The NeverNever
by TheDIGGS
Summary: Sakura is stuck in a world where it seems anything and everything is going to eat her, favors are risky, her bestfriend isn't who she thought she was, and now a snarky cat. Oh and who is this Sasuke guy Naruto is freaking about. AU Im not good at summaries but i promise its good ;
1. The changeling

**The never never**

**A/n: HEY guys! I started to think about this story on night when I was reading, it's kind of based on a midsummers night with a twist HEHE. So please go gentle on me and if you guys like it then I'll keep it going! ENJOY! **

**A punishment to some, to some a gift, and to many a favor.**

**Lucius Annaeus Seneca**

**Disclaimer: I don't own naruto or anything to do with Fey series that matter… *sob***

* * *

Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.

No, he didn't leave. Leaving would imply suitcases and empty drawers, and late birthday cards withten-dollar bills stuffed inside. Leaving would imply he was unhappy with Mom and me, or that he found a new love elsewhere. None of that was true. He also did not die, because we would've heard about it. There was no car crash, no body, no police mingling about the scene of a brutal murder. It all happened very quietly.

On my sixth birthday, my father took me to the park, one of my favorite places to go at that time. It was a lonely little park in the middle of nowhere, with a running trail and a misty green pond surrounded by pine trees. We were at the edge of the pond, feeding the ducks, when I heard the jingle of an ice cream truck in the parking lot over the hill. When I begged my dad to get me a Creamsicle, he laughed, handed me a few bills, and sent me after the truck.

That was the last time I saw him.

Later, when the police searched the area, they discovered his shoes at the edge of the water, but nothing else. They sent divers into the pond, but it was barely ten feet down, and they found nothing but branches and mud at the bottom. My father had disappeared without a trace.

For months afterward, I had a recurring nightmare about standing at the top of that hill, looking down and seeing my father walk into the pond. As the water closed over his head, I could hear the ice cream truck singing in the background, a slow, eerie song with words I could almost understand. Every time I tried to listen to them, however, I'd wake up.

Not long after my father's disappearance, Mom moved us far away, to a tiny little hick town in the middle of the Louisiana bayou. Mom said she wanted to "start over," but I always knew, deep down, that she was running from something.

It would be another ten years before I discovered what.

* * *

MY NAME IS SAKURA HARUNO.

In less than twenty-four hours, I'll be sixteen years old.

Sweet sixteen. It has a magical ring to it. Sixteen is supposed to be the age when girls become princesses and fall in love and go to dances and proms and such. Countless stories, songs, and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset.

I didn't think it would be that way for me.

The morning before my birthday, I woke up, showered, and rummaged through my dresser for something to wear. Normally, I'd just grab whatever clean-ish thing is on the floor, but today was special. Today was the day Neji hyuga would finally notice me. I wanted to look perfect.

Of course, my wardrobe is sadly lacking in the popular-attire department. While other girls spend hours in front of their closets crying, "What should I wear?" my drawers basically hold three things: clothes from Goodwill, hand-me-downs, and overalls.

I wish we weren't so poor. I know pig farming isn't the most glamorous of jobs, but you'd think Mom could afford to buy me at least one pair of nice jeans. I glared at my scanty wardrobe in disgust. Oh, well,

I guess Neji will have to be wowed with my natural grace and charm, if I don't make an idiot of myself in front of him.

I finally slipped into cargo pants, a neutral green T-shirt, and my only pair of ratty sneakers, before dragging a brush through my Bubble gum pink hair. My hair is straight and very fine, and was doing that stupid floating thing again, where it looked like I'd jammed my finger up an electrical outlet. Yanking it into a ponytail, I went downstairs.

Luke, my stepfather, sat at the table, drinking coffee and leafing through the town's tiny newspaper, which reads more like our high school gossip column than a real news source. "Five-legged calf born on Patterson's farm," the front page screamed; you get the idea. Yuro, my four-year-old half brother, sat on his father's lap, eating a Pop-Tart and getting crumbs all over Luke's overalls. He clutched Floppy, his favorite stuffed rabbit, in one arm and occasionally tried to feed it his breakfast; the rabbit's face was full of crumbs and fruit filling.

Yuro is a good kid. He has his father's curly brown hair, but like me, inherited Mom's big blue eyes.

He's the type of kid old ladies stop to coo at, and total strangers smile and wave at him from across the street. Mom and Luke dote on their baby, but it doesn't seem to spoil him, thank goodness.

"Where's Mom?" I asked as I entered the kitchen. Opening the cabinet doors, I scoured the boxes of cereal for the one I liked, wondering if Mom remembered to pick it up. Of course she hadn't. Nothing but fiber squares and disgusting marshmallow cereals for Yuro. Was it so hard to remember Cheerios?

Luke ignored me and sipped his coffee. Yuro chewed his Pop-Tart and sneezed on his father's arm. I slammed the cabinet doors with a satisfying bang.

"Where's Mom?" I asked, a bit louder this time. Luke jerked his head up and finally looked at me. His lazy brown eyes, like those of a cow, registered mild surprise.

"Oh, hello, Sakura," he said calmly. "I didn't hear you come in. What did you say?" I sighed and repeated my question for the third time.

"She had a meeting with some of the ladies at church," Luke murmured, turning back to his paper. "She won't be back for a few hours, so you'll have to take the bus."

I always took the bus. I just wanted to remind Mom that she was supposed to take me to get a learner's permit this weekend. With Luke, it was hopeless. I could tell him something fourteen different times, and he'd forget it the moment I left the room. It wasn't that Luke was mean or malicious, or even stupid. He adored Yuro, and Mom seemed truly happy with him. But, every time I spoke to my stepdad, he would look at me with genuine surprise, as if he'd forgotten I lived here, too.

I grabbed a bagel from the top of the fridge and chewed it sullenly, keeping an eye on the clock. Beau, our German shepherd, wandered in and put his big head on my knee. I scratched him behind the ears and he groaned. At least the dog appreciated me.

Luke stood, gently placing Yuro back in his seat. "All right, big guy," he said, kissing the top of Yuro's head. "Dad has to fix the bathroom sink, so you sit there and be good. When I'm done, we'll go feed the pigs, okay?"

"'Kay," Yuro chirped, swinging his chubby legs. "Floppy wants to see if Ms. Daisy had her babies yet."

Luke's smile was so disgustingly proud, I felt nauseous.

"Hey, Luke," I said as he turned to go, "bet you can't guess what tomorrow is."

"Mmm?" He didn't even turn around. "I don't know, Sakura. If you have plans for tomorrow, talk to your mother." He snapped his fingers, and Beau immediately left me to follow him. Their footsteps faded up the stairs, and I was alone with my half brother.

Yuro kicked his feet, regarding me in that solemn way of his. "I know," he announced softly, putting his Pop-Tart on the table. "Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it? Floppy told me, and I remembered."

"Yeah," I muttered, turning and lobbing the bagel into the trash can. It hit the wall with a thump and dropped inside, leaving a greasy smear on the paint. I smirked and decided to leave it.

"Floppy says to tell you happy early birthday."

"Tell Floppy thanks." I ruffled Yuro's hair as I left the kitchen, my mood completely soured. I knew it.

Mom and Luke would completely forget my birthday tomorrow. I wouldn't get a card, or a cake, or even a "happy birthday" from anyone. Except my kid brother's stupid stuffed rabbit. How pathetic was that?

Back in my room, I grabbed books, homework, gym clothes, and the iPod I'd spent a year saving for, despite Luke's disdain of those "useless, brain-numbing gadgets." In true hick fashion, my stepfather dislikes and distrusts anything that could make life easier. Cell phones? No way, we've got a perfectly good landline. Video games? They're the devil's tools, turning kids into delinquents and serial killers. I've begged Mom over and over to buy me a laptop for school, but Luke insists that if his ancient, clunky PC is good enough for him, it's good enough for the family. Never mind that dial-up takes flipping forever. I mean, who uses dial-up anymore?

I checked my watch and swore. The bus would arrive shortly, and I had a good ten-minute walk to the main road. Looking out the window, I saw the sky was gray and heavy with rain, so I grabbed a jacket, as well. And, not for the first time, I wished we lived closer to town.

I swear, when I get a license and a car, I am never coming back to this place.

"Saku?" Yuro hovered in the doorway, clutching his rabbit under his chin. His blue eyes regarded me somberly. "Can I go with you today?"

"What?" Shrugging into my jacket, I gazed around for my backpack. "No, Yuro. I'm going to school now. Big-kids school, no rug rats allowed."

I turned away, only to feel two small arms wrap around my leg. Putting my hand against the wall to avoid falling, I glared down at my half brother. Yuro clung to me doggedly, his face tilted up to mine, his jaw set. "Please?" he begged. "I'll be good, I promise. Take me with you? Just for today?"

With a sigh, I bent down and picked him up.

"What's up, squirt?" I asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Mom would need to cut it soon; it was starting to look like a bird's nest. "You're awfully clingy this morning. What's going on?"

"Scared," Yuro muttered, burying his face in my neck.

"You're scared?"

He shook his head. "Floppy's scared."

"What's Floppy scared of?"

"The man in the closet."

I felt a small chill slide up my back. Sometimes, Yuro was so quiet and serious, it was hard to remember he was only four. He still had childish fears of monsters under his bed and bogeymen in his closet. In Yuro's world, stuffed animals spoke to him, invisible men waved to him from the bushes, and scary creatures tapped long nails against his bedroom window. He rarely went to Mom or Luke with stories of monsters and bogeymen; from the time he was old enough to walk, he always came to me.

I sighed, knowing he wanted me to go upstairs and check, to reassure him that nothing lurked in his closet or under his bed. I kept a flashlight on his dresser for that very reason.

Outside, lightning flickered, and thunder rumbled in the distance. I winced. My walk to the bus was notgoing to be pleasant.

Dammit, I don't have time for this.

Yuro pulled back and looked at me, eyes pleading. I sighed again. "Fine," I muttered, putting him down.

"Let's go check for monsters."

He followed me silently up the stairs, watching anxiously as I grabbed the flashlight and got down on my knees, shining it under the bed. "No monsters there," I announced, standing up. I walked to the closet door and flung it open as Yuro peeked out from behind my legs. "No monsters here, either. Think you'll be all right now?"

He nodded and gave me a faint smile. I started to close the door when I noticed a strange gray hat in the corner. It was domed on top, with a circular rim and a red band around the base: a bowler hat.

Weird. Why would that be there?

As I straightened and started to turn around, something moved out of the corner of my eye. I caught a glimpse of a figure hiding behind Yuro's bedroom door, its pale eyes watching me through the crack. I jerked my head around, but of course there was nothing there.

Jeez, now Yuro's got me seeing imaginary monsters. I need to stop watching those late-night horror flicks.

A thunderous boom directly overhead made me jump, and fat drops plinked against the windowpanes. Rushing past Yuro, I burst out of the house and sprinted down the driveway.

* * *

I WAS SOAKED WHEN I REACHED

the bus stop. The late spring rain wasn't frigid, but it was cold enough to be uncomfortable. I crossed my arms and huddled under a mossy cypress, waiting for the bus to arrive.

Wonder where Puck is? I mused, gazing down the road. He's usually here by now. Maybe he didn't feel like getting drenched and stayed home. I snorted and rolled my eyes. Skipping class again, huh? Slacker. Wish I could do that.

If only I had a car. I knew kids whose parents gave them cars for their sixteenth birthday. Me, I'd be lucky if I got a cake. Most of my classmates already had licenses and could drive themselves to clubs and parties and anywhere they wanted. I was always left behind, the backward hick girl nobody wanted to invite.

Except Puck, I amended with a small mental shrug. At least Puck will remember. Wonder what kooky thing he has planned for my birthday tomorrow? I could almost guarantee it would be something strange or crazy. Last year, he snuck me out of the house for a midnight picnic in the woods. It was weird; I remembered the glen and the little pond with the fireflies drifting over it, but though I explored the woods behind my house countless times since then, I never found it again.

Something rustled in the bushes behind me. A possum or a deer, or even a fox, seeking shelter from the rain. The wildlife out here was stupidly bold and had little fear of humans. If it wasn't for Beau, Mom's vegetable garden would be a buffet for rabbits and deer, and the local raccoon family would help themselves to everything in our cupboards.

A branch snapped in the trees, closer this time. I shifted uncomfortably, determined not to turn around for some stupid squirrel or raccoon. I'm not like "inflate-a-boob" Ino, Ms. Perfect Cheerleader, who'd flip out if she saw a caged gerbil or a speck of dirt on her Hollister jeans. I've pitched hay and killed rats and driven pigs through knee-deep mud. Wild animals don't scare me.

Still, I stared down the road, hoping to see the bus turn the corner. Maybe it was the rain and my own sick imagination, but the woods felt like the set for The Blair Witch Project.

There are no wolves or serial killers out here, I told myself. Stop being paranoid.

The forest was suddenly very quiet. I leaned against the tree and shivered, trying to will the bus into appearing. A chill crawled up my back. I wasn't alone. Cautiously, I craned my neck up, peering through the leaves. An enormous black bird perched on a branch, feathers spiked out against the rain, sitting as motionless as a statue. As I watched, it turned its head and met my gaze, with eyes as green as colored glass.

And then, something reached around the tree and grabbed me.

I screamed and leaped away, my heart hammering in my ears. Whirling around, I tensed to run, my mind filled with rapists and murderers and Leather face from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Laughter exploded behind me.

Puck Goodfell, my closest neighbor—meaning he lived nearly two miles away—slouched against the tree trunk, gasping with mirth. Lanky and tall, in tattered jeans and an old T-shirt, he paused to look at my pale face, before cracking up again. His spiky red hair lay plastered to his forehead and his clothes clung to his skin, emphasizing his lean, bony frame, as though his limbs didn't fit quite right. Being drenched and covered in twigs, leaves, and mud didn't seem to bother him. Few things did.

"Dammit, Puck!" I raged, stomping up and aiming a kick at him. He dodged and staggered into the road, his face red from laughter. "That wasn't funny, you idiot. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"S-sorry, princess," Puck gasped, clutching his heart as he sucked in air. "It was just too perfect." He gave a final chortle and straightened, holding his ribs. "Man, that was impressive. You must've jumped three feet in the air. What, did you think I was, Leather face or something?"

"Of course not, stupid." I turned away with a huff to hide my burning face. "And I told you to stop calling me that! I'm not ten anymore."

"Sure thing, princess."

I rolled my eyes. "Has anyone told you you have the maturity level of a four-year-old?"

He laughed cheerfully. "Look who's talking. I'm not the one who stayed up all night with the lights on after watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I tried to warn you." He made a grotesque face and staggered toward me, arms outstretched. "Ooooh, look out, it's Leather face."

I scowled and kicked water at him. He kicked some back, laughing. By the time the bus showed up a few minutes later, we were both covered in mud, dripping wet, and the bus driver told us to sit in the back.

"What are you doing after school?" Puck asked as we huddled in the far backseat. Around us, students talked, joked, laughed, and generally paid us no attention. "Wanna grab a coffee later? Or we could sneak into the theater and see a movie."

"Not today, Puck," I replied, trying to wring water from my shirt. Now that it was over, I dearly regretted our little mud battle. I was going to look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon in front of Neji . "You'll have to do your sneaking without me this time. I'm tutoring someone after class."

Puck's Blue eyes narrowed. "Tutoring someone? Who?"

My stomach fluttered, and I tried not to grin. "Neji hyuga."

"What?" Puck's lip curled in a grimace of disgust. "The jockstrap? Why, does he need you to teach him how to read?"

I scowled at him. "Just because he's captain of the football team doesn't mean you can be a jerk. Or are you jealous?"

"Oh, of course, that's it," Puck said with a sneer. "I've always wanted the IQ of a rock. No, wait. That would be an insult to the rock." He snorted. "I can't believe you're going for the jockstrap. You can do so much better, princess."

"Don't call me that." I turned away to hide my burning face. "And it's just a tutoring session. He's not going to ask me to the prom. Jeez."

"Right." Puck sounded unconvinced. "He's not, but you're hoping he will. Admit it. You're drooling over him just like every empty-headed cheerleader on campus."

"So what if I am?" I snapped, spinning around. "It's none of your business, Puck. What do you care, anyway?"

He got very quiet, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. I turned my back on him and stared out the window. I didn't care what Puck said. This afternoon, for one glorious hour, Neji Hyuga would be mine alone, and no one would distract me from that.

* * *

SCHOOL DRAGGED. THE TEACHERS

all spoke gibberish, and the clocks seemed to be moving backward. The afternoon crept by in a daze. Finally, finally, the last bell rang, freeing me from the endless torture of X equals Y problems.

Today is the day, I told myself as I maneuvered the crowded hallways, keeping to the edge of the teeming mass. Wet sneakers squeaked over tile, and a miasma of sweat, smoke, and body odor hung thick in the air. Nervousness fluttered inside can do this. Don't think about it. Just go in and get it over with.

Dodging students,I wove my way down the hall and peeked into the computer room. There he was, sitting at one of the desks with both feet up on another chair. Neji hyuga, captain of the football team. Gorgeous Neji . King-of-the-school Neji . He wore a red-and-white letterman jacket that showed off his broad chest, and his thick dark blond hair brushed the top of his collar.

My heart pounded .A whole hour in the same room with Neji hyuga, with no one to get in the way. Normally, I couldn't even get close to Neji ; he was either surrounded by Ino and her cheerleader groupies, or his football buddies. There were other students in the computer lab with us, but they were nerds and academic types, beneath Neji hyuga's notice. The jocks and cheerleaders wouldn't be caught dead in here if they could help it. I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

He didn't glance at me when I walked up beside him. He lounged in the chair with his feet up and his head back, tossing an invisible ball across the room. I cleared my throat. Nothing. I cleared it a little louder. Still nothing.

Gathering my courage, I stepped in front of him and waved. His coffee-brown eyes finally jerked up to mine. For a moment, he looked startled. Then an eyebrow rose in a lazy arc, as if he couldn't figure out why I wanted to talk to him.

Uh-oh. Say something, Sakura. Something intelligent.

"Um…" I stammered. "Hi. I'm Sakura. I sit behind you. In computer class." He was still giving me that blank stare, and I felt my cheeks getting hot. "Uh…I really don't watch a lot of sports, but I think you're an awesome quarterback, not that I've seen many—well, just you, actually. But you really seem to know what you're doing. I go to all your games, you know. I'm usually in the very back, so you probably don't see me." Oh, God. Shut up, Sakura. Shut up now. I clamped my mouth closed to stop the incessant babbling, wanting to crawl into a hole and die. What was I thinking, agreeing to this? Better to be invisible than to look like a complete and total moron, especially in front of Neji .

He blinked lazily, reached up, and pulled the earphones from his ears. "Sorry, babe," he drawled in that wonderful, deep voice of his. "I couldn't hear you." He gave me a once-over and smirked. "Are you supposed to be the tutor?"

"Um, yes." I straightened and smoothed out my remaining shreds of dignity. "I'm Sakura. Mr. Iruka asked me to help you out with your programming project."

He continued to smirk at me. "Aren't you that hick girl who lives out in the swamp? Do you even know what a computer is?"

But, in the face of Neji 's criticism, I could only stammer: "Y-yes, I do. I mean, I know a lot." He gave me a dubious look, and I felt the sting of wounded pride. I had to prove to him that I wasn't the backward hillbilly he thought I was. "Here, I'll show you," I offered, and reached toward the keyboard on the table.

Then something weird happened.

I hadn't even touched the keys when the computer screen blipped on. When I paused, my fingers hovering over the board, words began to scroll across the blue screen.

Sakura Haruno. We see you. We're coming for you.

I froze. The words continued, those three sentences, over and over. Sakura Haruno. We see you. We're coming for you. Sakura Haruno we see you we're coming for you. Sakura Haruno we see you we're coming for you… over and over until it completely filled the screen.

Neji leaned back in his seat, glaring at me, then at the computer. "What is this?" he asked, scowling.

"What the hell are you doing, freak?" Pushing him aside, I shook the mouse, punched Escape, and pressed Ctrl/Alt/Del to stop the endless string of words. Nothing worked.

Suddenly, without warning, the words stopped, and the screen went blank for a moment. Then, in giant letters, another message flashed into view.

NEJI HYUGA PEEKS AT GUYS IN THE SHOWER ROOM, ROFL.

I gasped. The message began to scroll across all the computer screens, wending its way around the room, with me powerless to stop it. The other students at the desks paused, shocked for a moment, then began to point and laugh.

I could feel Neji 's gaze like a knife in my back. Fearfully, I turned to find him glaring at me, chest heaving. His face was crimson, probably from rage or embarrassment, and he jabbed a finger in my direction.

"You think that's funny, swamp girl? Do you? Just wait. I'll show you funny. You just dug your own grave, bitch."

He stormed out of the room with the echo of laughter trailing behind him. A few of the students gave me grins, applause, and thumbs-up; one of them even winked at me.

My knees were shaking. I dropped into a chair and stared blankly at the computer screen, which suddenly flicked off, taking the offensive message with it, but the damage was already done. My stomach roiled, and there was a stinging sensation behind my eyes.

I buried my face in my hands. I'm dead. I'm so dead. That's it, game over, Sakura. I wonder if Mom will let me move to a boarding school in Canada?

A faint snicker cut through my bleak thoughts, and I raised my head.

Crouched atop the monitor, silhouetted black against the open window, was a tiny, misshapenthing. Spindly and emaciated, it had long, thin arms and huge batlike ears. Slitted green eyes regarded me across the table, gleaming with intelligence. It grinned, showing off a mouthful of pointed teeth that glowed with neon-blue light, before it vanished, like an image on the computer screen.

I sat there a moment, staring at the spot where the creature had been, my mind spinning in a dozen directions at once. Okay. Great. Not only does Neji hate me, I'm starting to hallucinate, as well. Sakura

Haruno, victim of a nervous breakdown the day before she turned sixteen. Just send me off to the loony bin, 'cause I sure won't survive another day at school.

Dragging myself upright, I shuffled, zombielike, into the hall.

Puck waited for me by the lockers, a soda bottle in each hand. "Hey, princess," he greeted as I shambled past. "You're out early. How'd the tutoring session go?"

"Don't call me that," I muttered, banging my forehead into my locker. "And the tutoring session went fabulous. Please kill me now."

"That good, huh?" He tossed me a diet soda, which I barely caught, and twisted open his root beer in a hiss of foam. I could hear the grin in his voice. "Well, I suppose I could say 'I told you so—'"

I glared daggers at him, daring him to continue.

The smile vanished from his face. "—but…I won't." He pursed his lips, trying not to grin. "'Cause…that would just be wrong."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I demanded. "The buses have all left by now. Were you lurking by the computer lab, like some creepy stalker guy?"

Puck coughed loudly and took a long sip of his root beer. "Hey, I was wondering," he continued brightly, "what are you doing for your birthday tomorrow?"

Hiding in my room, with the covers over my head, I thought, but shrugged and yanked open my rusty locker.

"I dunno. Whatever. I don't have anything planned." I grabbed my books, stuffed them in my bag, and slammed the locker door. "Why?"

Puck gave me that smile that always makes me nervous, a grin that stretched his entire face so that his eyes narrowed to green slits. "I've got a bottle of champagne I managed to swipe from the wine cabinet," he said in a low voice, waggling his eyebrows. "How 'bout I come by your place tomorrow? We can celebrate your birthday in style."

I'd never had champagne. I did try a sip of Luke's beer once, and thought I was going to throw up.

Mom sometimes brought home wine in a box, and that wasn't terrible, but I wasn't much of an alcohol drinker.

What the hell? You're only sixteen once, right?

"Sure," I told Puck, and gave a resigned shrug. "Sounds good. Might as well go out with a bang."

He cocked his head at me. "You okay, princess?"

What could I tell him? That the captain of the football team, whom I'd been crushing on for two years, was out to get me, that I was seeing monsters at every turn, and that the school computers were either hacked or possessed? Yeah, right. I'd get no sympathy from the school's greatest prankster. Knowing Puck, he'd think it was a brilliant joke and congratulate me. If I didn't know him better, I might even think he set it up.

I just gave him a tired smile and nodded. "I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Puck."

"See you then, princess."

Mom was late picking me up, again. The tutoring session was only supposed to be an hour, but I sat on the curb, in the drizzling rain, for another good half hour, contemplating my miserable life and watching cars pull in and out of the parking lot. Finally, her blue station wagon turned the corner and pulled to a stop in front of me. The front seat was filled with grocery bags and newspapers, so I slid into the back.

"Sakura, you're sopping wet," cried my mother, watching me from the rearview mirror. "Don't sit on the upholstery—get a towel or something. Didn't you bring an umbrella?"

Nice to see you, too, Mom, I thought, scowling as I grabbed a newspaper off the floor to put on the seat. No "how was your day?" or "sorry I'm late." I should've abandoned the stupid tutoring session with Neji and taken the bus home.

We drove in silence. People used to tell me I looked like her, that is, before Yuro came along and swallowed up the spotlight. To this day, I don't know where they saw the resemblance. Mom is one of those ladies who looks natural in a three-piece suit and heels; me, I like baggy cargo pants and sneakers.

Mom's hair hangs in thick golden ringlets; mine is limp and fine, almost silver if it catches the light just right. She looks regal and graceful and slender; I just look skinny.

Mom could've married anyone in the world—a movie star, a rich business tycoon—but she chose Luke the pig farmer and a shabby little farm out in the sticks. Which reminded me…

"Hey, Mom. Don't forget, you have to take me to get a permit this weekend."

"Oh, Sakura." Mom sighed. "I don't know. I've got a lot of work this week, and your father wants me to help him fix the barn. Maybe next week."

"Mom, you promised!"

"Sakura, please. I've had a long day." Mom sighed again and looked back at me in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and ringed with smeared mascara. I shifted uncomfortably. Had Mom been crying?

"What's up?" I asked cautiously.

She hesitated. "There was an…accident at home," she began, and her voice made my insides squirm.

"Your father had to take Yuro to the hospital this afternoon." She paused again, blinking rapidly, and took a short breath. "Beau attacked him."

"What?" My outburst made her start. Our German shepherd? Attacking Yuro? "Is Yuro all right?" I demanded, feeling my stomach twist in fear.

"Yes." Mom gave me a tired smile. "Very shaken up, but nothing serious, thank God."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened?" I asked, still unable to believe our dog actually attacked a family member. Beau adored Yuro; he got upset if anyone even scolded my half brother. I'd seen Yuro yanking on Beau's fur, ears, and tail, and the dog barely responded with a lick. I'd seen Beau take Yuro's sleeve and gently tug him back from the driveway. Our German shepherd might be a terror to squirrels and deer, but he'd never even shown teeth to anyone in the house.

"Why did Beau go crazy like that?"

Mom shook her head. "I don't know. Luke saw Beau run up the stairs, then heard Yuro screaming.

When he got to his room, he found the dog dragging Yuro across the floor. His face was badly scratched, and there were bite marks on his arm."

My blood ran cold. I saw Yuro being mauled, imagined his absolute terror when our previously trustworthy shepherd turned on him. It was so hard to believe, like something out of a horror movie. I knew Mom was just as stunned as I was; she'd trusted Beau completely.

Still, Mom was holding back, I could tell by the way she pressed her lips together. There was something she wasn't telling me, and I was afraid I knew what it was.

"What will happen to Beau?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and my heart sank. "We can't have a dangerous dog running around, Sakura,"

she said, and I heard the plea for understanding. "If Yuro asks, tell him that we found Beau another home." She took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly, not looking at me. "It's for the safety of the family, Sakura. Don't blame your father. But, after Luke brought Yuro home, he took Beau to the pound."

Dinner was tense that night. I was furious at both my parents: Luke for doing the deed, and Mom for allowing him to do it. I refused to speak to either of them. Mom and Luke talked between themselves about useless, trivial stuff, and Yuro sat clutching Floppy in silence. It was weird not having Beau pacing round the table like he always did, looking for crumbs. I excused myself early and retreated to my room, slamming the door behind me.

I flopped back on my bed, remembering all the times Beau had curled up here with me, a solid, warm presence. He never asked anyone for anything, content just to be near, making sure his charges were safe. Now he was gone, and the house seemed emptier for it.

I wished I could talk to someone. I wanted to call Puck and rant about the total unfairness of it all, but his parents—who were even more backward than mine, apparently—didn't have a phone, or even a computer. Talk about living in the Dark Ages. Puck and I made our plans at school, or sometimes he would just show up outside my window, having walked the two miles to my house. It was a total pain in the ass, something I fully intended to fix once I got my own car. Mom and Luke couldn't keep me in this isolated bubble forever. Maybe my next big purchase would be cell phones for both of us, and screw what Luke thought about that. This whole "technology is evil" thing was getting really old.

I'd talk to Puck tomorrow. I couldn't do it tonight. Besides, the only phone in my house was the landline in the kitchen, and I didn't want to vent about grown-up stupidity with them in the same room.

That would be pushing it.

There was a timid knock on the door, and Yuro's head peeked inside.

"Hey, squirt." I sat up on the bed, swiping at a few stray tears. A dinosaur Band-Aid covered his

forehead, and his right arm was wrapped in gauze. "What's up?"

"Mommy and Daddy sent Beau away." His lower lip trembled, and he hiccuped, wiping his eyes on Floppy's fur. I sighed and patted the bed.

"They had to," I explained as he clambered up and snuggled into my lap, rabbit and all. "They didn't want Beau to bite you again. They were afraid you'd get hurt."

"Beau didn't bite me." Yuro gazed back at me with wide, teary eyes. I saw fear in them, and an understanding that went way beyond his years. "Beau didn't hurt me," he insisted. "Beau was trying to save me from the man in the closet."

Monsters again? I sighed, wanting to dismiss it, but a part of me hesitated. What if Yuro was right? I'd been seeing weird things, too, lately. What if…what if Beau really was protecting Yuro from something horrible and terrifying…? No!I shook my head. This was ridiculous! I'd be turning sixteen in a few hours; that was way too old to believe in monsters. And it was high time Yuro grew up, as well. He was a smart kid, and I was getting tired of him blaming imaginary bogeymen whenever something went wrong.

"Yuro." I sighed again, trying not to appear cranky. If I was too harsh, he'd pPuckably start bawling, and

I didn't want to upset him after all he'd gone through today. Still, this had gone far enough. "There are no monsters in your closet, Yuro. There's no such thing as monsters, okay?"

"Yes, there are!" He scowled and kicked his feet into the covers. "I've seen them. They talk to me. They say the king wants to see me." He held out his arm, showing me the bandage. "The man in the closet grabbed me here. He was pulling me under the bed when Beau came in and scared him off."

Clearly, I wasn't going to change his mind. And I really didn't want a temper tantrum in my room right now. "Okay, fine," I relented, wrapping my arms around him. "Let's say something other than Beau grabbed you today. Why don't you tell Mom and Luke?"

"They're grown-ups," Yuro said, as if it was perfectly clear. "They won't believe me. They can't see the monsters." He sighed and looked at me with the gravest expression I'd ever seen on a kid. "But Floppy says you can see them. If you try hard enough. You can see through the Mist and the glamour, Floppy says so."

"The what and the what?"

"Yuro?" Mom's voice floated outside the door, and her silhouette appeared in the frame. "Are you in here?" Seeing us together, she blinked and offered a tentative smile. I glared back stonily.

Mom ignored me. "Yuro, honey, time to get ready for bed. It's been a long day." She held out her hand, and Yuro hopped down to pad across the room, dragging his rabbit behind him.

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" I heard him ask, his voice small and scared.

"Oh, I guess so. Just for tonight, okay?"

"'Kay." Their voices faded away down the hall, and I kicked my door shut.

That night, I had a strange dream about waking up and seeing Floppy, Yuro's stuffed rabbit, at the foot of my bed. In the dream, the rabbit was speaking to me, words that were grave and terrifying, filled with danger. It wanted to warn me, or it wanted me to help. I might have promised it something. The next morning, however, I couldn't remember much of the dream at all.

* * *

I WOKE TO THE SOUND OF RAIN drumming on the roof. My birthday seemed destined to be cold, ugly, and wet. For a moment, a heavy weight pressed at the back of my mind, though I didn't know why I felt so depressed. Then everything from the previous day came back to me, and I groaned.

Happy birthday to me, I thought, burrowing under the covers.I'll be spending the rest of the week in bed, thanks.

"Sakura?" Mom's voice sounded outside my door, followed by a timid knock. "It's getting late. Are you up yet?"

I ignored her and curled up farther into the covers. Resentment simmered as I thought of poor Beau, carted off to the pound. Mom knew I was mad at her, but she could stew in her guilt for a while. I wasn't ready to forgive and make up just yet.

"Sakura, get up. You're going to miss the bus," said Mom, poking her head in the room. Her tone was matter-of-fact, and I snorted. So much for making up.

"I'm not going to school," I muttered from beneath the covers. "I don't feel good. I think I've got the flu."

"Sick? On your birthday? That's unfortunate." Mom came into the room, and I peeked at her through a crack in the blankets. She remembered?

"Very sad," Mom continued, smiling at me and crossing her arms. "I was going to take you to get a learner's permit after school today, but if you're sick…"

I popped up. "Really? Um…well, I guess I don't feel all that bad. I'll just take some aspirin or something."

"I thought so." Mom shook her head as I bounced to my feet. "I'm helping your father fix the barn this afternoon, so I can't pick you up. But, as soon as you get home, we'll go to the license bureau together. That sound like a good birthday present?"

I barely heard her. I was too busy racing around the room, grabbing clothes and getting my stuff together. The sooner I got through the day, the better.

I was stuffing homework into my backpack when the door creaked open again. Yuro peeked in the doorway, his hands behind his back, a shy, expectant smile on his face.

I blinked at him and pushed back my hair. "What do you need, squirt?"

With a grin, he stepped forward and held out a folded piece of paper. Bright crayon drawings decorated the front; a smiley-faced sun hovered over a little house with smoke curling from the chimney.

"Happy birthday, Sakura," he said, quite pleased with himself. "See how I remembered?"

Smiling, I took the homemade card and opened it. Inside, a simple crayon drawing of our family smiled back: stick figures of Mom and Luke, me and Yuro holding hands, and a four-legged critter that had to be Beau. I felt a lump in my throat, and my eyes watered for just a moment.

"You like it?" Yuro asked, watching me anxiously.

"I love it," I said, ruffling his hair. "Thank you. Here, why don't you put it on the fridge, so everyone can see what a great artist you are."

He grinned and scampered off, clutching the card, and I felt my heart get a little bit lighter. Maybe today wouldn't be so terrible, after all. "SO,YOUR MOM IS TAKING YOU to get a permit today?" Puck asked as the bus pulled into the school parking lot. "That's cool. You can finally drive us downtown and to the movies. We won't have to depend on the bus, or spend another evening watching VHS tapes on your twelve-inch screen."

"It's only a permit, Puck." I gathered my backpack as the bus lurched to a halt. "I won't have my license yet. Knowing Mom, it'll be another sixteen years before I can drive the car on my own. Yuro will probably get a license before I do."

The thought of my half brother sent an unexpected chill through me. I remembered his words from the night before: You can see through the Mist and the glamour, Floppy says so.

Stuffed rabbit aside, I had no idea what he was talking about.

As I walked down the bus steps, a familiar figure broke away from a large group and came striding toward me. Neji . My stomach twisted, and I gazed around for a suitable escape route, but before I could flee into the crowd, he was already in front of me.

"Hey." His voice, drawling and deep, made me shiver. Terrified as I was, he was still gorgeous, with his

damp brown hair falling his forehead. For some reason, he seemed nervous today, running his hands through his bangs and gazing around. "Um…" He hesitated, narrowing his eyes.

"What was your name again?"

"Sakura," I whispered.

"Oh, yeah." Stepping closer, he glanced back at his friends and lowered his voice. "Listen, I feel bad about the way I treated you yesterday. It was uncalled-for. I'm sorry."

For a moment, I didn't understand what he was saying. I'd been expecting threats, taunts, or accusations. Then a great balloon of relief swelled inside me as his words finally registered. "O-oh," I stammered, feeling my face heat, "that's okay. Forget about it."

"I can't," he muttered. "You've been on my mind since yesterday. I was a real jerk, and I'd like to make it up to you. Do…" He stopped, chewing his lip, then got it all out in a rush. "Do you want to eat lunch with me this afternoon?"

My heart pounded. Butterflies swarmed madly in my stomach, and my feet felt like they were floating an inch off the ground. I barely had the voice to squeak a breathless "Sure." Neji grinned, showing blindingly white teeth, and gave me a wink.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" One of Neji 's football buddies stood a few feet away, a camera-phone in hand, pointed at us. "Smile for the birdie."

Before I knew what was happening, Neji put a hand around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. I blinked up at him, stunned, as my heart began racing around my chest. He flashed his dazzling grin at the camera, but I could only stare, stupefied, like a moron.

"Thanks, Sakura," Neji said, breaking away from me. "See you at lunch." He smiled and trotted off toward the school with one final wink. The cameraman chuckled and sprinted after him, leaving me dazed and confused at the edge of the parking lot.

For a moment, I stood there, staring like an idiot as my classmates surged around me. Then a grin spread across my face and I whooped, leaping into the air. Neji hyuga wanted to see me! He wanted to have lunch with me, just me, in the cafeteria. Maybe my luck was finally turning around. My best birthday ever might just be starting.

As a silvery curtain of rain crept over the parking lot, I felt eyes on me. Turning, I saw Puck a few paces away, watching me through the crowd.

Through the rain, his eyes glittered, a too-bright blue. As water pounded the concrete and students rushed toward the school, I saw a hint of something on his face: a long muzzle, slitted eyes, a tongue lolling out between pointed fangs. My stomach twisted, but I blinked and Puck was himself again—normal, grinning, unconcerned that he was getting drenched.

And so was I.

With a little yelp, I sprinted beneath the overhang and ducked inside the school. Puck followed, laughing, pulling at my limp strands of hair until I smacked him and he stopped.

All through the first class, I kept glancing at Puck, looking for that eerie, predatory hint on his face, wondering if I was crazy. All it got me was a sore neck and a brusque comment from my English teacher to pay attention and stop staring at boys.

* * *

WHEN THE LUNCH BELL RANG, I leaped up, my heart fluttering a hundred miles a minute. Neji was waiting for me in the cafeteria. I grabbed my books, stuffed them into my backpack, whirled around— And came face-to-face with Puck, standing behind me.

I shrieked. "Puck, I'm going to smack you if you don't stop doing that! Now, move. I have to get somewhere."

"Don't go." His voice was quiet, serious. Surprised, I looked up at him. The perpetual goofy grin was gone, and his jaw was set. The look in his eyes was almost frightening. "This is bad, I can feel it. Jockstrap is up to something—he and his buddies were hanging around the yearbook department for a long time after he talked to you. I don't like it. Promise me you won't go."

I recoiled. "Were you eavesdropping on us?" I demanded, scowling. "What's wrong with you? Ever hear of a 'private conversation'?"

"Hyuga doesn't care about you." Puck crossed his arms, daring me to contradict him. "He'll break your heart, princess. Trust me, I've seen enough of his kind to know."

Anger flared, anger that he dared stick his nose into my affairs, anger that he could be right. "Again, it's none of your business, Puck!" I snapped, making his eyebrows arch. "And I can take care of myself, okay? Quit butting in where you're not wanted."

Hurt glimmered briefly, but then it was gone. "Fine, princess." He smirked, holding up his hands. "Don't get your royal pink panties in a twist. Forget I said anything."

"I will." Tossing my head, I flounced out of the room without looking back.

Guilt gnawed at me as I wove through the halls toward the cafeteria. I regretted snapping at Puck, but sometimes his Big Brother act went too far. Still, Puck had always been that way—jealous, overprotective, forever looking out for me, like it was his job. I couldn't remember when I first met him; it felt like he'd always been there.

The cafeteria was noisy and dim. I hovered just inside the door, looking for Neji , only to see him at a table in the middle of the floor, surrounded by cheerleaders and football jocks. I hesitated. I couldn't just march up to that table and sit down; Ino yamanka and her cheerleading squad would rip me to shreds.

Neji glanced up and saw me, and a lazy smile spread over his face. Taking that as an invitation, I started toward him, weaving my way past the tables. He flipped out his iPhone, pressed a button, and looked at me with half-lidded eyes, still grinning.

A phone rang close by.

I jumped a bit, but continued walking. Behind me, there were gasps, and then hysterical giggles. And then, the whispered conversation that always makes you think they're talking about you. I felt eyes on the back of my head. Trying to ignore it, I continued down the aisle.

Another phone rang.

And another.

And now, whispers and laughter were spreading like wildfire. For some reason, I felt horribly exposed, as if a spotlight shone right on me and I was on display. The laughter couldn't be directed at me, could it?

I saw several people point in my direction, whispering among themselves, and tried my best to ignore them. Neji 's table was only a few feet away.

"Hey, hot cheeks!" A hand smacked my ass and I shrieked. Spinning around, I glared at Dan Ottoman, a blond, pimply clarinet player from band. He leered back at me and winked. "Never took you for a player, girl," he said, trying to ooze charm but reminding me of a dirty Kermit the Frog. "Come down to band sometime. I've got a flute you can play."

"What are you talking about?" I snarled, but he snickered and held up his phone.

At first, the screen was blank. But then a message flashed across it in bright yellow.

"How is Sakura Haruno like a cold beer?" it read. I gasped, and the words disappeared as a picture flashed into view.

Me. Me with Neji in the parking lot, his arm around my shoulders, a wide leer on his face. Only now—my mouth dropped open—I was butt naked, staring at him in wonder, my eyes blank and stupid.

He'd obviously used Photoshop; my "body" was obscenely skinny and featureless, like a doll's, my chest as flat as a twelve-year-old's. I froze, and my heart stopped beating as the second part of the message

scrolled over the screen.

"She's smooth and goes down easy!"

The bottom dropped out of my stomach, and my cheeks flamed. Horrified, I looked up at Neji , to see his whole table roaring with laughter and pointing at me. Ring tones echoed through the cafeteria, and laughter pounded me like physical waves. I started trembling, and my eyes burned.

Covering my face, I turned and fled the cafeteria before I started wailing like a two-year-old. Shrieking laughter echoed around me, and tears stung my eyes like poison. I managed to cross the room without tripping over benches or my feet, bashed open the doors, and escaped into the hallway.

I spent nearly an hour in the corner stall of the girls' bathroom, sobbing my eyes out and planning my move to Canada, or possibly Fiji—somewhere far, far away. I didn't dare show my face to anyone in this state ever again. Finally, as the tears slowed and my gasping breaths returned to normal, I reflected on how miserable my life had become.

I guess I should feel honored, I thought bitterly, holding my breath as a group of girls flocked into the bathroom. Neji took the time to personally ruin my life. I bet he's never done that to anyone else. Lucky me, I'm the world's biggest loser. Tears threatened again, but I was tired of bawling and held them back.

At first, I planned to hole up in the bathroom until school ended. But, if anyone missed me from class, this would be the first place they'd look. So, I finally gathered the courage to tiptoe down to the nurse's office and fake a horrid stomachache so I could hide out there.

The nurse stood about four feet in thick-heeled loafers, but the look she gave me when I peered through the door suggested she wasn't going to take any teenage foolishness. Her skin looked like that of a shrunken walnut, her white hair was pulled into a severe bun, and she wore tiny gold glasses on the end of her nose.

"Well, now, Ms. Haruno," she said in a gravelly, high-pitched voice, setting aside her clipboard. "What are you doing here?" I blinked, wondering how she knew me. I'd only been to the nurse's office once before, when a stray soccer ball hit me in the nose. Back then, the nurse was bony and tall, with an overbite that made her look like a horse. This plump, shriveled little woman was new, and slightly unnerving, with the way she stared at me.

"I have a stomachache," I complained, holding my navel like it was about to burst. "I just need to lie down for a few minutes."

"Of course, Ms. Haruno. There are some cots in the back. I'll bring you something to make you feel better."

I nodded and moved into a room divided by several huge sheets. Except for myself and the nurse, the room was empty. Perfect. I chose a corner cot and lay back on the paper-covered mattress.

Moments later, the nurse appeared, handing me a Dixie cup full of something that bubbled and steamed.

"Take this, you'll feel better," she said, pressing the cup into my hand.

I stared at it. The fizzling white liquid smelled like chocolate and herbs, except stronger, somehow, a mix so potent it made my eyes water. "What is it?" I asked.

The nurse just smiled and left the room.

I took a cautious sip and felt warmth spread from my throat down to my stomach. The taste was incredible, like the richest chocolate in the world, with just a hint of bitter aftertaste. I quaffed the rest in two gulps, holding the cup upside down to get the last drops. Almost immediately, I felt sleepy. Lying back on the crinkly mattress, I closed my eyes for just a moment, and everything faded away.

* * *

I AWOKE TO LOW VOICES ,

talking in furtive tones, just beyond the curtains. I tried to move, but it felt like my body was wrapped in cotton, my head filled with gauze. I struggled to keep my eyes open.

On the other side of the sheets, I saw two silhouettes.

"Don't do anything reckless," warned a low, gravelly voice. The nurse, I thought, wondering, in my delirium, if she would give me more of that chocolaty stuff. "Remember, your duty is to watch the girl.

You must not do anything that will draw attention."

"Me?" asked a tantalizingly familiar voice. "Draw attention to myself? Would I do such a thing?"

The nurse snorted. "If the entire cheerleading squad turns into mice, Puck, I will be very upset with you. Mortal adolescents are blind and cruel. You know that. You mustn't take revenge, no matter how you feel about the girl. Especially now. There are more worrisome things on the move."

I'm dreaming, I decided. That must be it. What was in that drink, anyway? In the dim light, the silhouettes playing across the curtain looked confusing and strange. The nurse, it seemed, was even smaller, barely three feet in height. The other shadow was even more peculiar: normal-size, but with strange protrusions on the side of his head that looked like horns, or ears.

The taller shadow sighed and moved to sit in a chair, crossing his long legs. "I've heard the same," he muttered. "Dark rumors are stirring. The Courts are restless. Seems like something is out there that has both of them scared."

"Which is why you must continue to be both her shield and her guardian." The nurse turned, putting both hands on her hips, her voice chiding. "I'm surprised you haven't given her the mistwine yet. She is sixteen today. The veil is beginning to lift."

"I know, I know. I'm getting to it." The shadow sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I'll take care of that later this afternoon. How is she?"

"Resting," said the nurse. "Poor thing, she was traumatized. I gave her a mild sleep potion that will knock her out until she goes home."

A chuckle. "The last kid who drank one of your 'mild' sleep potions didn't wake up for two weeks.

You're one to talk about being inconspicuous."

The nurse's reply was garbled and broken, but I was almost sure she said, "She's her father's daughter.

She'll be fine." Or maybe it was just me. The world went fuzzy, like an out-of-focus camera, and I knew nothing for a time.

"SAKURA!"

Someone was shaking me awake. I cursed and flailed, momentarily confused, and finally lifted my head.

My eyes felt like they had ten pounds of sand in them, and sleep gook crusted the corners, making it impossible to focus. Groaning, I wiped my lids and stared blearily into Puck's face. For a moment, his brow was furrowed with concern. Then I blinked and he was his normal, grinning self.

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty," he teased as I struggled to a sitting position. "Lucky you, school is out. It's time to go home."

"Huh?" I muttered intelligently, wiping the last traces of sleep snot from my eyes. Puck snorted and pulled me to my feet.

"Here," he said, handing me my backpack, heavy with books. "You're lucky I'm such a great friend. I got notes for all the classes you missed after lunch. Oh, and you're forgiven, by the way. I won't even say 'I told you so.'"

He was speaking too fast. My brain was still asleep, my mind foggy and disconnected. "What are you talking about?" I mumbled, shrugging into my pack.

And then I remembered.

"I need to call my mom," I said, dropping back on the cot. Puck frowned and looked confused. "She has to come pick me up," I elaborated. "No way am I getting on the bus, ever again." Despair settled on me, and I hid my face in my hands.

"Look, Sakura," Puck said, "I heard what happened. It's not a big deal."

"Are you on crack?" I asked, glaring at him through my fingers. "The whole school is talking about me.

This will probably go in the school paper. I'll be crucified if I show my face in public. And you say it's not a big deal?"

I drew my knees to my chest and buried my head in them. Everything was so horribly unfair. "It's my birthday," I moaned into my jeans. "This isn't supposed to happen to people on their birthdays."

Puck sighed. Dropping his bag, he sat down and put his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. I

sniffled and shed a few tears into his jacket, listening to his heartbeat through his shirt. It thudded rapidly against his chest, like he'd been sprinting several miles.

"Come on." Puck stood, pulling me up with him. "You can do this. And I promise, no one will care what happened today. By tomorrow, everyone will have forgotten about it." He smiled, squeezing my arm. "Besides, don't you have a driver's permit to get?"

That one bright spark in the black misery of my life gave me hope. I nodded, steeling myself for what was to come. We left the nurse's office together, Puck's hand clasped firmly around mine.

"Just stick close," he muttered as we neared the crowded part of the hallway. Ino and three of her groupies stood in front of the lockers, chattering away and snapping their gum. My stomach tensed and my heart began to pound.

Puck squeezed my hand. "It's okay. Don't let go of me, and don't say anything to anyone. They won't even notice we're here."

As we neared the cluster of girls, I prepared for them to turn on me with their laughter and their ugly remarks. But we swept by them without so much as a glance, though Ino was in the midst of describing my shameful retreat from the cafeteria.

"And then she, like, started bawling," Ino said, her nasal voice cutting through the hall. "And I was like, omygod she's such a loser. But what can you expect from an inbred hillbilly?" Her voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned forward. "I heard her mom has an unnatural obsession with pigs, if you know what I mean."

The girls broke into a chorus of shocked giggles, and I almost snapped. Puck, however, tightened his grip and pulled me away. I heard him mutter something under his breath, and felt a shudder go through the air, like thunder with no sound.

Behind us, Ino started to scream.

I tried to turn back, but Puck yanked me onward, weaving through the crowd as the rest of the students jerked their heads toward the shrieking. But, for a split second, I saw Ino covering her nose with her hands, and her screams were sounding more and more like the squeals of a pig.

The bus ride home was silent, at least between Puck and me. Partly because I didn't want to draw attention to myself, but mainly because I had a lot on my mind. We sat in the back corner, with me crushed against the window, staring at the trees flashing by. I had my iPod out and my headphones blasting my eardrums, but it was mostly an excuse not to talk to anyone.

Ino's piglike screams still echoed through my head. It was probably the most horrible sound I'd ever heard, and though she was a total bitch, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. There was no doubt in my mind that Puck had done something to her, though I couldn't prove it. I was actually afraid to bring it up. Puck seemed like a different person now, quiet, brooding, watching the kids on the bus with predator-like intensity. He was acting weird—weird and creepy—and I wondered what was wrong with him.

Then there was that strange dream, which I was beginning to think hadn't really been a dream at all. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the familiar voice talking to the nurse had been Puck's.

Something was happening, something strange and creepy and terrifying, and the scariest part of all was that it wore a familiar, ordinary face. I snuck a glance at Puck. His blond spikey hair was everywhere and his blue eyes were narrowed. How well did I know him, really know him? He'd been my friend for longer than I could remember, and yet I'd never been to his house, or met his parents. The few times I suggested meeting at his place, he'd always had some excuse not to; his folks were out of town, or they were remodeling the kitchen, a kitchen I'd never seen. That was strange, but what was weirder was the fact that I'd never wondered about it, never questioned it, until now.

Puck was simply there, like he'd been conjured out of nothing, with no background, no home, and no past. What was his favorite music? Did he have goals in life? Had he ever fallen in love?

Not at all, my mind whispered, disturbingly. You don't know him at all.

I shivered and looked out the window again.

The bus lurched to a halt at a four-way stop, and I saw we'd left the outskirts of town and were now heading into the boondocks. My neighborhood. Rain still spattered the windows, making the swampy marshlands blurry and indistinct, the trees fuzzy dark shapes through the glass.

I blinked and straightened up in my seat. Deep in the swamp, a horse and rider stood beneath the limbs of an enormous oak, as still as the trees themselves. The horse was a huge black animal with a mane and tail that rippled behind it, even drenched as it was. Its rider was tall and lean, garbed in silver and black.

A dark cape fluttered from its shoulders. Through the rain, I caught the barest glimpse of a face: young,pale, strikingly handsome…staring right at me. My stomach lurched and I caught my breath.

"Puck," I murmured, pulling my headphones out, "look at tha—"

Puck's face was inches from mine, staring out the window, his eyes narrowed to green slits, hard and dangerous. My stomach twisted and I leaned away from him, but he didn't notice me. His lips moved, and he whispered one word, so soft I barely caught it, even as close as we were.

"Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" I repeated. "Who's Sasuke?"

The bus coughed and lurched forward again. Puck leaned back, his face so still it could've been carved from stone. Swallowing, I looked out the window, but the space beneath the oak was empty.

Horse and rider were gone, like they'd never existed.

"Who's Sasuke?" I repeated, turning back to Puck, who seemed to be in his own world. "Puck? Hey!"

I poked him in the shoulder. He twitched and finally looked at me. "Who is Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" For a moment, his eyes were bright and feral, his face like that of a wild dog. Then he blinked and was normal again. "Oh, he's just an old buddy of mine, from long ago. Don't worry about it, princess."

His words slid over me strangely, like he was willing me to forget simply by requesting it. I felt a prickle of annoyance that he was hiding something, but it quickly faded, because I couldn't remember what we were talking about.

At our curb, Puck leaped up as if the seat was on fire and rushed out the door. Blinking at his abrupt departure, I put my iPod safely in my backpack before leaving the bus. The last thing I wanted was for the expensive thing to get wet.

"I have to go," Puck announced when I joined him on the pavement. His green eyes swept through the trees, as if he expected something to come crashing out of the woods. I gazed around, but except for some bird trilling overhead, the forest was quiet and still. "I…um…forgot something at home." He turned to me then with an apologetic look. "See you tonight, princess? I'll bring that surprise over later, okay?"

"Oh." I'd forgotten about that. "Sure."

"Go straight home, okay?" Puck narrowed his eyes, his face intense. "Don't stop, and don't talk to anyone you meet, got it?"

I laughed nervously. "What are you, my mom? Are you going to tell me not to run with scissors and to look both ways before crossing the street? Besides," I continued as Puck smirked, looking more like his normal self.

"who would I meet way out here in the boondocks?" The image of the boy on the horse suddenly came to mind, and my stomach did that strange little flop again. Who was he? And why couldn't I stop thinking about him, if he even existed at all? Things were getting really odd. If it wasn't for

Puck's weird reaction on the bus, I would think the boy was another of my crazy hallucinations.

"Fine." Puck waved, flashing his mischievous grin. "See you later, princess. Don't let Leatherface catch you on your way home."

I kicked at him. He laughed, bounced away, and sprinted off down the road. Shouldering my backpack,

I trudged up the driveway.

* * *

"MOM?"

I CALLED, OPENING THE front door. "Mom, I'm home."

Silence greeted me, echoing off the walls and floor, hanging heavy in the air. The stillness was almost a living thing, crouched in the center of the room, watching me with cold eyes. My heart began a loud, irregular thud in my chest. Something was wrong.

"Mom?" I called again, venturing into the house. "Luke? Anybody home?" The door creaked as I crept in farther. The television blared and flickered, playing a rerun of an old black-and-white sitcom, though the couch in front of it was empty. I switched it off and continued down the hall, into the kitchen.

For a moment, everything looked normal, except for the refrigerator door, swinging on its hinges. A small object on the floor caught my attention. At first, I thought it was a dirty rag. But, looking closer, I saw it was Floppy, Yuro's rabbit. The stuffed animal's head had been torn off, and cotton spilled from the hole in the neck.

Straightening, I heard a small noise on the other side of the dining table. I walked around, and my stomach twisted so violently that bile rose to my throat.

My mother lay on her back on the checkered tile floor, arms and legs flung akimbo, one side of her face covered in glistening crimson. Her purse, its contents scattered everywhere, lay beside one limp white hand. Standing over her in the doorway, his head cocked to one side like a curious cat, was Yuro.

And he was smiling.

"MOM!" I SCREAMED ,FLINGING myself down beside her. "Mom, are you okay?" I grabbed one shoulder and shook her, but it was like shaking a dead fish. Her skin was still warm, though, so she couldn't be dead. Right?

Where the hell is Luke? I shook her again, watching her head flop limply. It made my stomach turn.

"Mom, wake up! Can you hear me? It's Sakura." I looked around frantically, then snatched a washrag off the sink. As I dabbed it over her bloodied face, I became aware again of Yuro standing in the doorway, his blue eyes now wide and teary.

"Mommy slipped," he whispered, and I noticed a clear, slick puddle on the floor in front of the refrigerator. Hand trembling, I dipped a finger in the goo and sniffed. Vegetable oil? What the hell? I wiped more blood off her face and noticed a small gash on her temple, nearly invisible beneath blood and hair.

"Will she die?" Yuro asked, and I glanced at him sharply. Though his eyes were huge and round, and tears brimmed in the corners, he sounded more curious than anything.

I wrenched my gaze away from my half brother. I had to get help. Luke was gone, so the only thing left would be to call for an ambulance. But, just as I stood to get the phone, Mom groaned, stirred, and opened her eyes.

My heart leaped. "Mom," I said as she struggled into a sitting position, a dazed look on her face. "Don't move. I'll call 911."

"Sakura?" Mom looked around, blinking. A hand came up to touch her cheek, and she stared at the blood on her fingers.

"What happened? I…I must've fallen…"

"You hit your head," I replied, standing up and looking around for the phone. "You might have a concussion. Hold on, I'm calling the ambulance."

"The ambulance? No, no." Mom sat up, looking a little clearer. "Don't do that, honey. I'm fine. I'll just clean up and put on a Band-Aid. There's no need to go to that trouble."

"But, Mom—"

"I'm fine, Sakura." Mom snatched the forgotten washrag and began wiping the blood off her face. "I'm sorry if I frightened you, but I'll be fine. It's only blood, nothing serious. Besides, we can't afford a big doctor's bill." She abruptly straightened and looked around the room. "Where's your brother?"

Startled, I looked back to the doorway, but Yuro was gone.

* * *

MOM'S PROTESTS WERE WASTED

when Luke got home. He took one look at her pale, bandaged face, threw a fit, and insisted they go to the hospital. Luke can be stubbornly persistent when he needs to be, and Mom eventually buckled under the pressure. She was still calling out instructions to me—take care of Yuro, don't let him stay up too late, there's frozen pizza in the fridge—as Luke bundled her into his battered Ford and roared off down the driveway.

As the truck turned a corner and vanished from sight, the chilly silence descended on the house once more. I shivered, rubbing my arms, feeling it creep into the room and breathe down my neck. The house where I'd lived most of my life seemed unfamiliar and frightening, as if things lurked in the cupboards and around corners, waiting to grab me as I walked past. My gaze lingered on the crumpled remains of

Floppy, strewn across the floor, and for some reason, it made me very sad and scared. No one in this house would rip up Yuro's favorite stuffed animal. Something was very wrong.

Footsteps padded over the floor. I turned to find Yuro in the doorway, staring at me. He looked strange without the rabbit in his arms, and I wondered why he wasn't upset about it.

"I'm hungry," he announced, making me blink. "Cook me something, Sakura."

I scowled at the demanding tone.

"It's not dinnertime yet, squirt," I told him, crossing my arms. "You can wait a couple hours."

His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled back from his teeth. For just a moment, I imagined they were jagged and sharp. "I'm hungry now, " he growled, taking a step forward. Dread shot through me and I recoiled.

Almost immediately, his face smoothed out again, his eyes enormous and pleading. "Please, Sakura?" he whined. "Please? I'm so hungry." He pouted, and his voice turned menacing. "Mommy didn't make me food, either."

"All right, fine! If it'll shut you up, fine." The angry words erupted from fear, and from a hot embarrassment because I was afraid. Of Yuro. Of my stupid, four-year-old half brother. I didn't know where these demonic mood swings of his were coming from, but I hoped they weren't the start of a trend. Maybe he was just upset because of Mom's accident. Maybe if I fed the brat, he'd fall asleep and leave me alone for the night. I stalked to the freezer, grabbed the pizza, and shoved it in the oven.

While the pizza cooked, I tried to clean up the puddle of vegetable oil in front of the refrigerator. I wondered how the stuff had ended up on the floor, especially when I found the empty bottle stuffed in the trash. I smelled like Crisco when I was done, and the floor still had a slick spot, but it was the best I could do.

The creak of the oven door startled me. I turned to see Yuro pulling it open and reaching inside.

"Yuro!" Grabbing his wrist, I yanked him back, ignoring his scream of protest. "What are you doing, you idiot? You want to burn yourself?"

"Hungry!"

"Sit down!" I snapped, plunking him into a dining chair.

He actually tried to hit me, the little ingrate. I resisted the urge to smack him. "God, you're being snotty today. Sit there and be quiet. I'll get your food in a second."

When the pizza came out, he fell on it like a wild thing, not waiting for it to cool. Astonished, I could only stare as he tore through the slices like a starved dog, barely stopping to chew as he gulped it down.

Soon, his face and hands were smeared with sauce and cheese, and the pizza was rapidly diminished. In less than two minutes, he had consumed it all, down to the last crumb.

Yuro licked his hands, then raised his eyes to me and frowned. "Still hungry."

"You are not," I told him, snapping out of my daze. "If you eat anything else you'll get sick. Go play in your room or something."

He stared at me with a baleful expression, and it seemed that his skin grew darker, wrinkled, and shriveled beneath his baby fat. Without warning, he leaped off the chair, rushed me, and sank his teeth into my leg.

"Ow!"Pain lanced through my calf like an electrical shock. Grabbing his hair, I tried prying his teeth from my skin, but he clung to me like a leech and bit down harder. It felt like glass shards stabbing into my leg.

Tears blurred my vision, and my knees almost buckled from the pain.

* * *

"Sakura!"

Puck stood inside the front door, a backpack flung over his shoulder, his blue eyes wide with shock.

Yuro released me, jerking his head toward the shout. Blood smeared his lips. Seeing Puck, he hissed

and—there's no other way to put it—scuttledaway from us and into his room, vanishing from sight

Quickly she pulled the door shut and slide down the door in dismay closing her eyes what is happening everything was so strange right now, how her brother was standing over sayuri smiling and how she brushed it of as just slipping, opening her eyes she say the familiar shoes of puck.

Puck crossed the room in three strides and knelt beside me. Briskly, as if he'd done this kind of thing

before, he began rolling up the cuff of one pant leg.

"Puck," I whispered as he bent over his task, his long fingers surprisingly gentle. "What's happening?

Everything's going crazy. Yuro just attacked me…like a wild dog."

"That wasn't your brother," Puck muttered as he pushed back the material, revealing a bloody mess

below my knee. An oval of jagged puncture wounds marred my leg, seeping blood, and the skin around

them was already purpling. Puck whistled softly. "Nasty. Wait here. I'll be right back."

"Like I'm going anywhere," I replied automatically, and then his previous statement sank in. "Wait a

minute. What do you mean, that wasn't Yuro? Who the hell else could it be?"

"Here," he said, giving it to me. The cup sparkled in his hand. "Drink this. Where do you keep the

towels?"

I took it suspiciously. "In the bathroom. Just don't use Mom's good white ones." As Puck walked off, I

peered into the tiny cup. There was barely enough for a swallow. It didn't look like champagne to me. I

was expecting something fizzy white or pink, sparkling in the glass. The liquid in the cup was a deep, dark

red, the color of blood. A fine mist writhed and danced on the surface.

"What is this?"

Puck, returning from the bathroom with a white towel, rolled his eyes. "Do you have to question

everything? It will help you forget the pain. Just drink it already."

I sniffed experimentally, expecting hints of roses or berries or some type of sweet scent mixed in with the

alcohol.

It smelled of nothing. Nothing at all.

Oh, well. I raised the glass in a silent toast. "Happy birthday to me."

The wine filled my mouth, flooding my senses. It tasted of nothing, and everything. It tasted of twilight

and mist, moonlight and frost, emptiness and longing. The room swayed, and I fell back against the

couch, it was so strong. Reality blurred at the edges, wrapping me in a fuzzy haze. I felt sick and sleepy

all at once.

By the time my senses cleared, Puck was tying a bandage around my leg. I didn't remember him

cleaning or dressing the wound. I felt numb and dazed, like a blanket had dropped over my thoughts,

making it hard to concentrate.

"There," Puck said, straightening up. "That's done. At least your leg won't fall off." His eyes swept up

to mine, anxious and assessing. "How're you feeling, princess?"

"Un," I said intelligently, and tried to sweep the cobwebs from my brain. There was something I wasn't

remembering, something important. Why was Puck binding my leg? Had I hurt myself somehow?

I bolted upright.

"Yuro bit me!" I exclaimed, indignant and furious all over again. I turned on Puck. "And you…you

said that wasn't Yuro at all! What were you talking about? What's going on?"

"Relax, princess." Puck tossed the bloody towel onto the floor and plopped onto a footstool. He

sighed. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. My fault, I suppose. I shouldn't have left you alone

today."

"What are you talking about?"

"You weren't supposed to see this, any of this," Puck went on, to my utter confusion. He seemed to

be talking more to himself than me. "Your Sight has always been strong, that was a given. Still, I didn't

expect them to go after your family, too. This changes things."

"Puck, if you don't tell me what's going on—"

Puck looked at me. His eyes gleamed, impish and feral. "Tell you? Are you sure?" His voice went soft

and dangerous, and goose bumps crawled up my arms. "Once you start seeing things, you won't be able

to stop. People have gone mad with too much knowledge." He sighed, and the menace dropped from his

eyes. "I don't want that to happen to you, princess. It doesn't have to be this way, you know. I can

make you forget all of this.

"Forget?"

He nodded and held up the wine bottle. "This is mistwine. You just had a swallow. A cup will make

everything go back to normal." He balanced the bottle on two fingers, watching it sway back and forth.

"One cup, and you'll be normal again. Your brother's behavior will not seem strange, and you won't

remember anything weird or scary. You know what they say—ignorance is bliss, right?"

Despite my uneasiness, I felt a slow flame of anger burning my chest. "So, you want me to drink

that…that stuff, and just forget about Yuro. Just forget about my only brother. That's what you're saying."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, when you put it like that…"

The burning grew hot and furious, searing away the fear. I clenched my fists. "Of course I won't forget

about Yuro! He's my brother! Are you really that inhuman, or just stupid?"

To my surprise, a grin spread over his face. He dropped the bottle, caught it, and put it on the floor.

"The first," he said, very softly.

That threw me. "What?"

"Inhuman." He was still grinning at me, the smile stretching his whole mouth so that his teeth gleamed in

the fading light. "I warned you, princess. I'm not like you. And now, neither is your brother."

Despite the fear prickling my stomach, I leaned forward. "Yuro? What do you mean? What's wrong

with him?"

"That wasn't Yuro." Puck leaned back, crossing his arms. "The thing that attacked you today is a

changeling.

* * *

**Review Review Review(:**


	2. Mistwine

**The Never never**

**A/n: I'm back! PLEASE READ CH1 OVER AGAIN I CHANGED IT ALOT! Thank you :3 I will try to update as soon as possible but your reviews are what keep me going!**

**Sorry that I kind rushed the ending of the last chapter, it was like 5 am and I was like IM SO CLOSE TO THE END AHHHHHH! But I'll make sure this chapter is longer and better (:**

**I hope you guys understand where I'm going with this story, I think all the characters will fit well together where I put them hehe I'm excited! NOW ON THE STORY!**

**Disclaimer: I could only own Naruto in my dreams or anything that includes they fey series…if that was even possible…**

_I am that merry wanderer of the night._

_-Puckin goodfellow_

* * *

I stared at Puck, wondering if this was another one of his stupid pranks. He sat there, observing me calmly, watching my reaction. Though he still wore a half grin, his eyes were hard and serious. He wasn't joking around.

"Ch-changeling?" I finally stammered, looking at him like he was insane. "Isn't that some kind of…of…"

"Faery," Puck finished for me. "A changeling is a faery offspring that has been switched with a human child. Usually, a troll's or goblin's, though the sidhe—the faery nobility—have been known to make the switch, as well. Your brother has been replaced. That thing is not Yuro, any more than I am."

"You're crazy," I whispered. If I wasn't sitting, I'd be backing away from him toward the door.

"You've gone off the deep end. Time to cut back on the anime, Puck. There's no such thing as faeries."

Puck sighed. "Really? That's what you're going with? How predictable." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "I thought better of you, princess."

"Thought better of me?" I cried, leaping off the couch. "Listen to yourself! You really expect me to believe that my brother is some kind of pixie with glitter dust and butterfly wings?"

"Don't be stupid," Puck said mildly. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You're thinking

'Tinker Bell,' which is a typical human response to the wordfaery. The real fey aren't like that at all." He paused a moment. "Well, except for the piskies, of course, but that's a different story altogether."

I shook my head, my thoughts spinning in several directions at once. "I can't deal with this right now,"

I muttered and staggered away from him. "I have to check on Yuro."

Puck only shrugged, leaned back against the wall, and put his hands behind his head. After one final glare at him, I rushed up the stairs and opened the door to Yuro's bedroom.

It was a mess, a war zone of broken toys, books, and scattered clothes. I looked around for Yuro, but the room appeared empty, until I heard a faint scratching noise under his bed.

"Yuro?" Kneeling down, pushing away broken action figures and snapped Tinkertoys, I peered into the space between the mattress and the floor. In the shadows, I could just make out a small lump huddled in the corner with his back to me. He was trembling.

"Yuro," I called softly. "Are you all right? Why don't you come out a second? I'm not mad at you."

Well, that was a lie, but I was more shaken than angry. I wanted to drag Yuro downstairs and prove that he wasn't a troll or a changeling or whatever Puck said he was.

The lump stirred a little, and Yuro's voice drifted out of the gap. "Is the scary man still here?" he asked in a small, frightened voice. I might've been sympathetic, if my calf wasn't throbbing so much.

"No," I lied. "He's gone now. You can come out." Yuro didn't move, and my irritation sparked.

"Yuro, this is ridiculous. Get out of there already, will you?" I stuck my head farther under the mattress and reached for him.

Yuro turned on me with a hiss, eyes burning yellow, and lunged at my arm. I jerked it back as his teeth,

jaggedly pointed like a shark's, snapped together with a horrid clicking sound. Yuro snarled, his skin the ghastly blue of a drowned infant's, bared teeth shining in the darkness. I shrieked, scrabbling back, Lego blocks and Tinkertoys biting into my palms. Hitting the wall, I leaped to my feet, turned, and fled the room.

And ran smack into Puck, standing outside the door. He grabbed my shoulders as I screamed and started hitting him, barely conscious of what I was doing.

He bore the attack wordlessly, simply holding me in place, until I collapsed against him and buried my head in his chest. And he held me as I sobbed out my fear and anger.

At last, the tears stopped, leaving me drained and utterly exhausted. I sniffed and backed away, wiping my eyes on my palm, shaking. Puck still stood there quietly, his shirt damp with my tears. The door to Yuro's bedroom was shut, but I could hear faint thumps and cackling laughter beyond the door.

I shivered, looking up at Puck. "Yuro is really gone?" I whispered. "He's not just hiding somewhere?

He's really gone?"

Puck nodded gravely. I looked at Yuro's bedroom door and bit my lip. "Where is he now?"

"Probably in Faeryland." Stated so simply, I almost laughed from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Yuro had been stolen by faeries and replaced with an evil doppelgänger. Faeries kidnapped my brother. I was tempted to pinch myself to see if this was a twisted dream or hallucination. Maybe I had fallen into a drunken stupor on the couch. On impulse, I bit the inside of my cheek, hard. The sharp pain and taste of blood told me this was, indeed, real.

"So…" I swallowed and forced myself to be calm. Okay, Yuro was kidnapped by faeries; I could deal with this. "What do we do now?"

Puck raised one shoulder. "That's up to you, princess. There are human families that have raised changelings as their own, though they are usually unaware of the child's true nature. Generally speaking, if you feed it and leave it alone, it will settle into its new home without too much trouble. Changelings make a nuisance of themselves at first, but most families adapt." Puck grinned, but it was an attempt at lightheartedness rather than humor. "Hopefully, your folks will think he's just going through a late terrible twos.

"nuisance, it's dangerous." I glared at Yuro's closed door and shuddered.

"I want it gone. I want my brother back. How do we get rid of it?"

Puck sobered. "Well, there are ways of getting rid of changelings," he began, looking uncomfortable.

"One old method is to brew beer or cook stew in eggshells, and that will make the changeling comment on the weirdness of it. But that method was for infants who'd been switched—since the baby was too young to speak, the parents knew that the impostor was a changeling and the real parents had to take it back. I don't think it'll work for someone older, like your brother."

"Great. What's another way?"

"Er, the other way is to beat the changeling near to death, until the screams force the fey parents to return the real child. Barring that, you could stick him in the oven and cook him alive—" "Stop." I felt sick.

"I can't do any of those things, Puck. I just can't. There has to be another way."

"Well…" Puck looked hesitant and scratched the back of his neck. "The only other way is to travel into the faery lands and take him back. Bringing the real child into the home again will force the changeling to leave. But…" He paused, as if on the verge of saying something, only to think better of it.

"But what?"

"But…you don't know who took your brother. And without that knowledge, you'll just be walking in circles. And, if you're wondering, walking in circles in Faeryland is a very, very bad idea."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know who took him," I agreed, staring hard at Puck, "but you do."

Puck shuffled nervously. "I have a guess." "Who?"

"It's just a guess, mind you. I could be wrong. Don't go jumping to conclusions."

"Puck!"

He sighed. "The Unseelie Court."

"The what?"

"The Unseelie Court," Puck repeated. "The Court of Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. Sworn

enemies of King Oberon and Queen Titania. Very powerful. Very nasty."

"Wait, wait, wait." I held up my hands. "Oberon? Titania? Like from A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Aren't those just ancient myths?"

"Ancient, yes," Puck said. "Myths, no. The faery lords are immortal . Those who have songs, ballads, and stories written about them never die. Belief, worship, imagination—we were born of the dreams and fears of mortals, and if we are remembered, even in some small way, we will always exist."

"You keep saying 'we,'" I pointed out. "As though you're one of those immortal faeries. As though you're one of them." Puck smiled, a proud, impish smile, and I gulped. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Ah, well." Puck shrugged, trying to look modest and failing entirely. "If you've read A Midsummer Night's Dream, you might remember me. There was this unfortunate incident, completely unplanned, where I gave someone a donkey's head and made Titania fall in love with him."

I ran through the play in my mind. I'd read it in the seventh grade, but had forgotten most of the plot.

There were so many characters, so many names to sift through, people falling in and out of love so often

it was ridiculous. I remembered a few human names: Hermia, Helena, Demetrius. On the faery side, there was Oberon and Titania and…

"Shit," I whispered, falling back against the wall. I stared at Puck with new eyes. "Puck Goodfell.

Puck…you're Puck Goodfellow."

Puck grinned. "Yup! But call me Naruto"

"No way," I whispered, shaking my head. This was Puck, my closest friend. I would've known if he was an ancient faery. Wouldn't I?

Frighteningly, the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. I'd never seen Puck's house, or his parents. The teachers all loved him, though he never did a lick of school-work and slept through most of the classes. And strange things happened when he was around: mice and frogs ended up in desks, or names were switched around on term papers. Though Puck Goodfell thought these scenarios absolutely hilarious, no one ever suspected him.

"No," I muttered again, backing away toward my room. "That's impossible. Puck is a legend, a myth. I don't believe it."

Puck gave me that eerie smile. "Then, princess, by all means, let me assure you."

His arms rose from his sides, as if he might levitate into the air. From downstairs, I heard the front door creak open, and I hoped mom and Luke weren't home yet .Yeah, Mom, Yuro's turned into a monster and my best friend thinks he's a faery. How was your day? whatever it was, made a beeline straight for Puck and perched on his arm. They watched me, the pair of them, with glittering eyes, and Puck smiled.

A rush of wind, and suddenly, the air was filled with screaming black birds, swooping in from the open door. I gasped and ducked as the cloud of ravens filled the hallway, their raucous cries nearly deafening me. They swirled around Puck, a tornado of beating wings and sharp claws, tearing at him with talons and beaks. Feathers flew everywhere, and Puck disappeared within the swirling mass. Then, as one, the birds scattered, flying out the open door as swiftly as they had come. As the last bird swooped outside, the door slammed behind it, and silence descended once more. I caught my breath and glanced at Puck.

Puck was gone. Only a swirl of black feathers and dust motes remained in the place where he'd stood.

It was too much. I felt my sanity unravel like frayed cloth. With a choked scream, I turned and fled into my room, slamming the door behind me. Flinging myself under my bedcovers, I put the pillow over my head and shook, hoping that when I woke up, things would be normal.

My door opened, and the sound of wings fluttered into my room. I didn't want to look and pulled the

covers tighter around me, willing the nightmare to end. I heard a sigh, and footsteps padded over the

floor.

"Well, I tried to warn you, princess."

I peeked out. Puck stood there, looking down at me, a pained smile on his face. Seeing him, I felt relieved, angry, and terrified at the same time. I threw off the covers and sat up, narrowing my eyes as I stared at him. Puck waited, hands in the pockets of his jeans, as if daring me to contradict him some more.

"You really are Puck?" I said finally. "ThePuck? Like in the stories?"

Puck/Naruto gave a little bow. "The one and only." emotions churned; I didn't know what to feel. I settled on anger; Puck had been my best friend for years, and he never saw fit to share his secret with me. "You could have told me sooner," I said, trying not to sound hurt. "I would have kept your secret." He only smirked and raised an eyebrow, infuriating me even more. "Fine. Go back to Faeryland, or wherever you come from. Aren't you supposed to be Oberon's jester or something? Why were you hanging around me so long?"

"You wound me, princess." Puck sounded anything but hurt. "And after I made up my mind to help you get your brother back."

My anger vanished instantly, replaced with fear. With all the talk of fey and faery lords, I'd nearly forgotten about Yuro.

I shivered as my stomach twisted into a tight little ball. This still felt like something out of a nightmare. But Yuro was gone, and faeries were real. I had to accept that now. Puck stood there, gazing at me expectantly. A black feather dropped from his hair, spiraling down to the bed. Gingerly, I picked it up, twirling it in my fingers. It felt solid and real.

"You'll help me?" I whispered.

He gave me a shrewd look, one corner of his mouth turning up. "Do you know a way into Faery by yourself?"

"No."

"Then you need my help." Puck smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Besides, it's been a while since I've gone home, and nothing ever happens here. Storming the Unseelie Court sounds like fun."

I didn't share his enthusiasm. "When do we leave?" I asked.

"Now," Puck replied. "The sooner the better. Do you have anything you want to take, princess? You might not be back for a while."

I nodded, trying to stay calm. "Just give me a minute."

Puck nodded and walked into the hallway. I snatched my bright orange backpack and tossed it on the bed, wondering what to take. What did one need for an overnight trip to Faeryland? I grabbed jeans and an extra shirt, a flashlight, and a bottle of aspirin, stuffing them into the pack. Walking down to the kitchen, I tossed in a Coke and a couple of bags of chips, hoping Puck would know where to find food on the journey. Finally, not even knowing why, I grabbed my iPod, zipping it into the side pocket. What would Dad and Sayori think when they found me gone? I'd always followed the rules, never sneaking out—except that one time with Puck—never staying up past curfew. I wondered what Puck meant when he said we'd be gone "awhile." Sayorio might not even notice I'd left, but dad would worry. Grabbing an old homework sheet, I started to write her a quick note, but stopped, my pen hovering over the paper.

What are you going to tell her? "Dear Mom, Yuro's been kidnapped by faeries. Gone to get him back. Oh, and don't trust the Yuro that's here—he's really a faery changeling."It sounded insane even to me. I hesitated, thinking, then scrawled a quick:

Mom, there's something I have to take care of. I'll be back soon, I promise. Don't worry about me.

Sakura

I stuck the note on the refrigerator door, trying not to think that I might never see home again.

Shouldering the pack, feeling my insides squirm like a nest of snakes, I climbed the stairs.

Puck waited on the landing, arms crossed over his chest, wearing a lazy grin. "Ready?"

Apprehension tickled my stomach. "Will it be very dangerous?"

"Oh, extremely," Puck said, walking up to Yuro's bedroom door. "That's what makes it fun. You can die in so many interesting ways—skewered on a glass sword, dragged underwater and eaten by a kelpie, turned into a spider or a rosebush for all time—" He looked back at me. "Well, are you coming or not?"

I noticed my hands were shaking and held them to my chest. "Why are you saying these things?" I whispered. "Are you trying to scare me?"

"Yes," Puck replied, unabashed. He paused at Yuro's door, one hand on the knob, and stared at me.

"These are the things you're going to face, princess. I'm giving you fair warning now. Still think you want to go? My previous offer still stands."

I remembered the taste of the mistwine, the desperate longing for more, and shivered. "No," I said quickly. "I won't leave Yuro with a bunch of monsters. I've lost a father already—I won't lose a brother, as well."

And then, something occurred to me, something that left me breathless, wondering why I didn't think of it before. Mom. My heart pounded, recalling half-remembered dreams, where my mother vanished beneath a pond and never resurfaced. What if he'd been kidnapped by faeries, as well? I could find Yuro and my mom, and bring them both home!

"Let's go," I demanded, looking Puck in the eyes. "Come on, we've wasted enough time here. If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with."

Puck blinked, and a strange look passed over his face. For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to say something. But then he shook himself, like he was coming out of a trance, and the moment was gone.

"All right, then. Don't say I didn't warn you." He grinned, and the gleam in his eyes grew brighter. "First things first. We have to find an entrance to the Nevernever. That's Faeryland to you. It's not a place you can just walk to, and the doors are usually very well hidden. Fortunately, I have a good idea of where one is lurking." He grinned, turned away, and pounded on Yuro's bedroom door. "Knock, knock!" he called in a high, singsong voice.

For a moment, silence. Then came a thud and a crash, as if something heavy had been hurled at the door. "Go away!" snarled the voice from within.

"Ah, no. That's not how the joke goes," called Puck. "I say 'knock, knock,' and you're supposed to answer with 'who's there?'"

"Fuck off!"

"Nope, that's still wrong." Puck seemed unperturbed. I, however, was horrified at Yuro's language, though I knew it wasn't him. "Here," continued Puck in an amiable voice, "I'll go through the whole thing, so you'll know how to answer next time." He cleared his throat and pounded the door again. "Knock, knock!" he bellowed. "Who's there? Puck! Puck who? Puck, who will turn you into a squealing pig and stuff you in the oven if you don't get out of our way,!" And with that, he banged open the door.

The thing that looked like Yuro stood on the bed, a book in each hand. With a hiss, he hurled them at the doorway. Puck dodged, but one paperback hit me in the stomach and I grunted.

"Please," I heard Puck mutter, and a ripple went through the air. Suddenly, all the books in the room flapped their covers, rose off the floor and shelves, and began dive-bombing Yuro like a flock of enraged seagulls. I could only stare, feeling my life get more surreal by the second. The fake Yuro hissed and snarled, swatting at the books as they buzzed around him, until one hit him smack in the face and tumbled him off the mattress. Spitting in fury, he darted under the bed. I heard claws scrabbling against the wood as his feet vanished into the crawl space. Curses and growls drifted out from the darkness.

Puck shook his head. "Amateurs." He sighed as the books swooping around the room froze midflightand rained to the floor with echoing thuds. "Let's go, princess."

"So," I ventured, trying to sound casual, as if flying books and faeries were something I encountered every day. "Where's this entrance to Faeryland? Will you have to make a magic ring or cast a spell or something?"

Puck snickered. "Not exactly, princess. You're making it too complicated. Doorways to the Nevernevertend to appear in places where there is a lot of belief, creativity, or imagination. Often you can find one in a child's bedroom closet, or under his bed."

"The closet, then," I murmured, stepping over books and toys to reach it. My hand shook a bit as I grabbed the doorknob. No turning back now, I told myself, and pulled it open.

A tall, emaciated figure with a narrow face and sunken eyes stared at me as the door swung open. A black suit clung to its rail-thin body, and a bowler hat perched atop its pointed head. It blinked wide, staring at me, and bloodless lips pulled back in a grimace, revealing thin, pointed teeth. I leaped back with a shriek.

"My closet!" hissed the figure. A spiderlike hand darted out and grabbed the doorknob. "My closet! Mine!" And it slammed the door with a bang.

Puck gave an exasperated sigh as I skittered behind him, my heart careening around my rib cage like a bat. "Bogeys," he muttered, shaking his head. He strode to the door, tapped on it three times, and flung it open.

This time, the space stood empty, except for hanging shirts, stacked boxes, and normal closet things.

Puck shoved aside the clothes, maneuvered around the boxes, and put a hand to the back wall, tracing his fingers along the wood. Curious, I edged closer.

"Where are you?" he muttered, feeling along the wall. I crept to the doorway and peered over his shoulder. "I know you're here. Where is…Aha."

Crouching down, he took a breath and blew against the wall. Instantly, a cloud of dust arose, billowing around him and sparkling like orange glitter.

When he straightened, I saw a gold handle on the back wall, and the faint outline of a door, pale light shining through the bottom crack.

"Come on, princess." Puck turned and beckoned me forward. His eyes glowed green in the darkness.

"This is our ride. Your one-way ticket to the Nevernever."

I hesitated, waiting for my pulse to slow to something resembling normal. It didn't. This is insane, a small, scared part of me whispered. Who knew what waited through that doorway, what horrors lurked in the shadows? I might never come home again. This was my last chance to turn back.

No, I told myself. I can't turn back. Yuro is out there, somewhere. Yuro is counting on me. I took a deep breath and one step forward.

A wrinkled hand shot from beneath the bed, latching on to my ankle. It yanked savagely and I nearly fell, as a snarl echoed from the dark space beneath. With a shriek, I kicked free of the flailing claw, charged blindly into the closet, and slammed the door behind me.

* * *

**A/n; DUN DUN! Whats going to happen next? Even i don't really know yet lol, but please R&R.**

**It inspires me truly it does!**


	3. The Wild Hunt

**The Nevernever**

**My heart  
Is true as steel.**

**A/N- Well im back agian! HHAHA! So i decided id update twice this week just to be nice...He-he. **

**Omg, my life has been consumed from netflix, ive been watching soul eater NON-STOP, i finally got to the end and i was about to cry! Please PLEASE! start a new series WAHH!**

**Anywho i wish people would review because it actually makes me wanna write more...Kinda disapointing sob.**

**Disclaimer****- Don't own anything naruto or fey!**

**Unknownred- Thank you for reviewing! It made me wanna get to work ASAP! haha i got so excited -squeal-**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

In the musty darkness of Yuro's closet, I pressed a hand to my chest and waited once more for my heartbeat to return to normal. Blackness surrounded me, except for the thin rectangle of light outlined against the far wall. I couldn't see Naruto, but I felt his presence close by, heard his quiet breathing in my ear.

"Ready?" he whispered his breath warm on my skin. And before I could answer, he pushed the door back with a creak, revealing the Nevernever.

Pale silver light flooded the room. The clearing beyond the door frame was surrounded by enormous trees, so thick and tangled I couldn't see the sky through the branches. A curling mist crept along the ground, and the woods were dark and still, as if the forest was trapped in perpetual twilight. Here and there, brilliant splashes of color stood out among the gray. A patch of flowers, their petals a shocking electric-blue, waved gently in the mist. A creeper vine snaked around the trunk of a dying oak, long red thorns a stark contrast to the tree it was killing

A warm breeze blew into the closet, carrying with it a shocking assortment of smells—smells that should not be together in one place. Crushed leaves and cinnamon, smoke and apples, fresh earth, lavender, and the faint, cloying scent of rot and decay. For a moment, I caught a tang of something metallic and coppery, wrapped around the smell of rot, but it was gone in the next breath. Clouds of insects swarmed overhead, and if I listened hard I could almost imagine I heard singing. The forest was still at first, but I then caught movement deep in the shadows, and heard leaves rustle all around us. Invisible eyes seemed to watch me from every angle, boring into my skin.

Naruto, his hair a bright flame atop his head, stepped through the doorway, gazed around, and laughed.

"Home." He sighed, flinging his arms wide, as if to embrace it all. "I'm finally home." He spun in place and, with another laugh, fell backward into the mist, like he was making a snow angel, and vanished.

I gulped and took a cautious step forward. Mist swirled around my ankles like a living thing, caressing my skin with damp fingers. "Naruto?"

The silence mocked me. Out of the corner of my eye, something big and white darted into the trees like quicksilver. "Naruto?" I called again, edging to the place he had fallen. "Where are you? Naruto?"

"Boo." He appeared behind me, rising out of the mist like a vampire from its coffin. To say I screamed was a bit of an understatement.

"A little jumpy today, aren't we?" Naruto laughed and darted out of reach before I could kill him. "Time to switch to decaf, princess. If you're going to shriek at every bogey that jumps out and says 'boo,' you'll be exhausted before we reach the edge of the woods."

He had changed. Bright orange pants and a thick black and orange hoodie replaced his jeans and ratty T-shirt. I couldn't see his feet very well in the mist, but it looked like he'd traded his sneakers for soft leather boots. His face was leaner, harsher, with sharp angles and pointed features. Combined with his bright blond hair and blue eyes, he reminded me of a grinning fox. But the most noticeable difference was his ears. Slender and pointed, they jutted out from the sides of his head, like…well, like an elf's. And, in that moment, all traces of Puck disappeared. The boy I'd known for most of my life was gone, like he never existed, and only Naruto remained.

"What's the matter, princess?" Naruto yawned, stretching his long limbs. Was it my imagination, or had he gotten taller, too? "You look like you lost your best friend."

I ignored the question, not wanting to dwell on it. "How did you do that?" I asked, to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Your clothes, I mean. They're different. And the way you made the books fly around the room. Was it magic?"

He grinned. "Glamour," he said, as if that meant anything to me at all. I frowned at him, and he sighed.

"I didn't have time to change before we came here, and my lord King Oberon frowns on wearing mortal clothes to court. So I used glamour to make myself presentable. Just like I used glamour to make myself look human."

"Wait a minute." I thought. "Are there others like you…you faery-types, walking around back home? Right under everyone's noses?"

Naruto gave me a very eerie smile. "We're everywhere, princess," he said firmly. "Under your bed, in your attic, walking past you on the street." His smile grew wider, more wolfish. "Glamour is fueled by the dreams and imagination of mortals. Writers, artists, little boys pretending to be knights—the fey are drawn to them like moths to a flame. Why do you think so many children have imaginary friends? Even your brother had one. Floppy, I think he called it, though that wasn't its true name. A pity the changeling managed to kill it."

My stomach felt tight. "And…no one can see you?"

"We're invisible, or we use glamour to hide our true nature." Narutp leaned against a tree, lacing his hands behind his head in a very Puck-like fashion. "Don't look so shocked, princess. Mortals have perfected the art of not seeing what they don't expect to be there. Though, there are a few rare humans who can see through the mist and the glamour. Usually, these are very special individuals—innocent, naïve dreamers—and the fey are even more attracted to them."

"Like Yuro," I murmured.

He gave me a strange look, one corner of his mouth quirked up. "Like you, princess." He seemed about to say something else, but then a branch snapped somewhere in the tangled darkness.

He straightened quickly. "Whoops, time to go. It's dangerous to linger in any one place. We'll attract unwanted attention."

"What?" I exclaimed as he strode across the clearing, moving as gracefully as a deer. "I thought you said this was home".

The Nevernever is home to all fey," He said without looking back. "It's divided into territories, or more technically, Courts. The Seelie Court is Oberon's domain, while Mab rules the Unseelie territories. While in the Courts, it is usually forbidden to torment, maim, or kill another fey without permission from its rulers.

"However," he continued, looking back at me, "right now, we are in neutral territory, home of the wild fey. Here, as you humans put it, all bets are off. The things coming at us now could be a herd of satyrs who will make you dance until you're exhausted, then rape you one by one, or it could be a pack of hedge wolves that will tear us both apart. Either way, I don't think you want to hang around."

I was afraid again. It seemed I was always afraid. I didn't want to be here, in this eerie forest, with this person I only thought I knew. I wanted to go home. Only, home had become a frightening place as well, almost as much as the Nevernever. I felt lost and betrayed, out of place in a world that wished me harm.

Yuro ,I reminded myself. You're doing this for Yuro. Once you get him, you can go home and everything will go back to normal.

The rustling grew louder, and twigs snapped as whatever was out there drew closer. "Princess," Naruto snapped, right next to me. I jumped and bit down a shriek as he grabbed my wrist. "The aforementioned nasties have picked up our scent and are coming for us." Though his voice was casual, I could see the strain in his eyes. "If you don't want your first day in the Nevernever to be your last, I suggest we move."

I looked back and saw the door we came through standing upright in the middle of the clearing. "Will we be able to get back home this way?" I asked as he pulled me along.

"Nope." When I stared at him in horror, he shrugged. "Well, you can't expect the doors to stand around in one place, princess. Don't worry, though. You have me, remember? When the time comes, we'll find the way home."

We ran for the far side of the clearing, straight for a tangle of bushes with hooked yellow thorns as long as my thumb. I held back, sure we'd be sliced to ribbons, but as we neared, the branches shivered and peeled away from us, revealing a narrow path cutting through the trees. As we stepped through, the bushes knitted together again, hiding the trail and protecting our retreat.

We walked for hours, or at least it felt that way to me. Narutp kept up a steady pace, neither hurrying nor slowing down, and in time the sounds of pursuit faded away. Sometimes the trail split, wending off in different directions, but he always chose a path without hesitation. Many times, I'd catch movement from the corner of my eye—a flash of color in the brush, a figure silhouetted between the trees—but when I turned, there'd be nothing. Sometimes, I almost swore I heard singing or music, but, of course, it would fade when I tried to focus on it. The sickly luminescence of the forest never dimmed or brightened, and when I asked Naruto what time night would fall, he cocked an eyebrow at me and said night would come when it was ready.

Annoyed, I checked my watch, wondering how long we'd been traveling. I received an unpleasant shock. The slender hands were frozen in place. Either the watch's battery was dead, or something else was interfering or maybe time doesn't exist in this place. I don't know why I found that immensely disturbing, but I did.

My feet were aching, my stomach hurt, and my legs were burning with exhaustion when the eternal twilight finally began to dim. Naruto stopped, gazing up at the sky, where an enormous moon glimmered over the treetops, so close you could see pits and craters marring the surface.

"I suppose we should rest for the night." He sounded reluctant. He gave me a sideways grin as I collapsed on a moldy log. "We wouldn't want you stumbling onto a dancing mound, or following a white bunny down a dark hole. Come on, I know a place not far from here where we can sleep undisturbed." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. My limbs screamed in protest, and I almost sat down again.

I was tired, cranky, and the last thing I wanted was more hiking. Gazing around, I saw a lovely little pond through a stand of trees. The water shimmered in the moonlight, and I paused, gazing out over the mirrored surface. "Why not stop there?" I asked

Naruto took one look at the pond, grimaced, and pulled me onward. "Ah, no," he said quickly. "Too many nasties lurking underwater—kelpies and glaistigs and mermaids and such. Best not to risk it."

I looked back and saw a dark shape breach the perfect surface of the pond, sending ripples across the still water. The top of a horse's head, coal-black and slick like a seal, watched me with baleful white eyes. With a gasp, I hurried on.

A few minutes later, we came to the trunk of a huge, gnarled tree. The bark was so knobby and rough that I could almost see faces peering out of the trunk. It reminded me of wrinkled old men, stacked atop each other and waving their crooked arms indignantly.

Naruto knelt among the roots and knocked on the wood. I peered over his shoulder and, with a start, saw a tiny door, barely a foot tall, near the base of the tree. As I watched, wide-eyed, the door creaked open, and a head peered out suspiciously.

"Eh? Who's there?" a rough, squeaky voice asked as I stared in wonder. The little man's skin was the color of walnuts; his hair looked like a bundle of twigs sticking out of his scalp. He wore a brown tunic and brown leggings, and looked like a stick come to life, except for the eyes peering out of his face, black and shiny like a beetle's.

"Good evening, Twiggs," Naruto greeted politely.

The little man blinked, squinting up at the figure towering over him. "Puck?" he squeaked at last. "Haven't seen you round these parts in a while. What brings you to my humble tree?"

"Escort service," Naruto replied, shifting to the side so that Twiggs could get a clear view of me. Those beady eyes fixed on me, blinking in confusion. Then, suddenly, they got huge and round, as Twiggs looked back at Naruto.

"Is…is that…?"

"It is."

"Does she…?"

"No."

"Oh, my." Twiggs opened the door wide, beckoning with a sticklike arm. "Come in, come in. Quickly, now. Before the dryads catch sight of you, the irritating gossips." He vanished inside, and Naruto turned to me.

"I'll never be able to fit in there," I told him before he could say a word. "There's no way I'm going to squeeze through, unless you've got a magic toadstool that'll shrink me to the size of a wasp. And I'm not eating anything like that. I've seen Alice in Wonderland, you know."

Naruto grinned and took my hand.

"Close your eyes," he told me, "and just walk."

I did, half expecting to walk nose first into the tree, courtesy of a great Puck-prank. When nothing happened, I almost peeked but thought better of it. The air turned warm, and I heard a door slam behind me, when Naruto said I could open my eyes again.

I stood in a cozy, round room, the walls made of smooth red wood, the floor covered with mossy carpet. A flat rock on three stumps served as a table in the center of the room, displaying berries the size of soccer balls. A rope ladder hung on the far wall, and when my gaze followed it up, I nearly fainted.

Dozens of insects crawled on the walls or hovered in the air high above us, for the trunk extended farther than I could see. Each bug was the size of a cocker spaniel, and their rear ends glowed a luminescent yellow-green.

"You've been renovating, Twiggs," Naruto said, sitting on a bundle of furs that passed for a couch. I looked closer and saw the head of a squirrel still attached to the skin, and had to look away. "This place was barely a hole in the tree when I saw it last."

Twiggs looked pleased. He was our height now—actually, I guess we were more his height—and up close he smelled of cedar and moss.

"Yes, I've grown quite fond of it," Twiggs said, walking over to the table. He picked up a knife and split a berry into thirds, arranging the pieces on wooden plates. "Still, I might have to move soon. The dryads whisper to me, tell me dark things. They say parts of the wyldwood are dying, vanishing more every day. No one knows what is causing it."

"You know what's causing it," Naruto said, draping the squirrel tail over his lap. "We all do. This is nothing new."

"No." Twiggs shook his head. "Mortal disbelief has always taken a bit of the Nevernever, but not like this. This is…different. It's hard to explain. You'll see what I mean if you go any farther."

He handed us each a plate with a huge slab of red berry, half an acorn, and a pile of what looked like steamed white grubs. Despite the weirdness of the day, I was ravenous after hours of hiking. The berry wedge tasted tart and sweet, but I wasn't about to touch the maggoty-looking things and gave them all to Naruto. After dinner, Twiggs made me a bed of squirrel hides and chipmunk fur, and though I was mildly grossed out, I fell asleep immediately.

* * *

THAT NIGHT, I DREAMED .

In my dream, my house was dark and still, the living room cloaked in shadow. A brief glimpse of the wall clock pronounced it 3:19 a.m. I floated through the living room past the kitchen and made my way up the stairs. The door to my room was closed, and I heard luke's grizzly-bear snores coming from the master bedroom, but at the end of the hall, Yuro's door stood slightly ajar. I padded down the hallway and peeked in through the crack.

A stranger stood in Yuro's bedroom, a tall, lean figure dressed in silver and black. A boy, perhaps a little older than me, though it was impossible to tell his exact age. His body was youthful, but there was a stillness to him that hinted at something far older, something incredibly dangerous. With a shock, I recognized him as the boy on the horse, who had watched me through the forest that day. Why was he here now, in my house? How did he even get in? I toyed with the idea of confronting him, knowing this was all a dream, when I noticed something else, something that made my blood run cold. Thick, raven-wing hair tumbled to his shoulders sticking up in the back, not quite covering the delicate, pointed ears.

He wasn't human. He was one of them, one of the fey. Standing in my house, in my brother's bedroom. I shuddered and began to ease back down the hall.

He turned then, looking right through me, and I would've gasped if I had the breath. He was gorgeous. More than gorgeous, he was beautiful. Regal beautiful, prince-of-a-foreign-nation beautiful. If he walked into my classroom during finals, students and teachers alike would be throwing themselves at his feet.

Still, it was a cold, hard beauty, like that of a marble statue, inhuman and otherworldly. His slanted eyes, beneath long, jagged bangs, glimmered like chips of steel.

The changeling was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear faint noises coming from beneath the bed, the thud of a rapidly beating heart. The fey boy didn't seem to notice. He turned and placed one pale hand on the closet door, running his fingers down the faded wood. A ghost of a smile touched his lips.

In one smooth motion, he pushed the door open and walked through. The door shut behind him with a soft click, and he was gone.

Warily, I edged toward the closet door, keeping a careful eye on the space beneath the bed. I still heard muffled heartbeats, but nothing reached out to grab at me. I crossed the room without incident. As quietly as I could, I grasped the closet doorknob, turned it, and pulled the door open.

"My closet!" shrieked the bowler hat man, leaping out at me. "Mine!"

* * *

I SCREAMED AND JERKED myself awake.

For a moment, I glared wildly around the room, not knowing where I was. My heart pounded, and a cold sweat made my forehead clammy and slick. Scenes from a vivid nightmare danced across my mind:

Yuro attacking me, Puck making books fly around the room, a portal opening to an eerie new world.

A loud snore caught my attention, and I turned. Naruto was sprawled out on the couch across from me, one arm flung over his eyes, his torso wrapped in a squirrel blanket.

My heart sank as the memories came flooding back. This wasn't a nightmare. I hadn't been dreaming this. Yuro was gone; a monster had replaced him. Puck was a faery. And I was in the middle of the Nevernever searching for my brother, though I had no idea where to look, and no real hope of finding him.

I lay back, shivering. It was dark in Twiggs's home; the fireflies or whatever they were had stopped blinking and were now clinging to the walls, apparently asleep. The only light came from a flickering orange glow outside the window. Maybe Twiggs had the porch light on or something.

I bolted upright. That glow was actually candlelight, and above it, a face was peering into the room from outside. I opened my mouth to yell for Naruto, when those blue eyes turned to me, and a face I knew all too well backed away into the night.

Yuro.

ISCRAMBLED OUT OF BED and sprinted across the floor, not bothering to put on my shoes. Naruto snorted and shifted under his mound of furs, but I ignored him. Yuro was out there! If I could get to him, we could go home and forget this mess ever existed.

I yanked on the door and stepped out, scanning the woods for my brother. Only later did it occur to me that I was normal-size again, and that the door was still only a foot tall. All I could think about was Yuro and getting him home, getting us both home.

Darkness greeted me, but up ahead, I saw a flickering orange glow bouncing along, getting steadily farther away. "Yuro!" I called, my voice echoing into the stillness. "Yuro, wait!"

I started to run, my bare feet slapping against leaves and branches, slipping on rocks and mud. My toe hit something sharp, and it should've hurt, but my mind didn't register the pain. I could see him up ahead, a small figure making his way through the trees, holding a candle out before him.

I ran as fast as I could, branches scraping my skin and tearing at my hair and clothes, but it seemed he was always the same distance away.

Then he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, smiling. The flickering candlelight cast his features in an eerie glow. I put on a burst of speed, and was just a few feet away when the ground suddenly dropped away from me. With a shriek, I plummeted like a stone, landing with a splash in icy water that closed over my head, flooding my nose and mouth.

Gasping, I floundered to the surface, my face stinging and my limbs already numb. Above me, a giggle rang out, and a glowing ball of light hovered overhead. It dangled there a moment, as if enjoying my humiliation, then sped away into the trees, high-pitched laughter echoing behind it.

Treading water, I gazed around. A muddy bank rose above me, slick and treacherous. There were several old trees growing out over the water, but their branches were too high for me to reach. I tried finding handholds in the bank to pull myself out, but my feet slipped in the mud, and the plants I grabbed came loose from the soil, dumping me into the lake with a noisy splash. I'd have to find another way out.

And then I heard another splash, farther out, and knew I wasn't alone.

Moonlight shone upon the water, painting everything in a relief of silver and black. Except for the buzzing of insects, the night was very still. On the far side of the lake, fireflies danced and whirled above the surface, some glowing pink and blue instead of yellow. Maybe I'd only imagined I'd heard a noise.

Nothing seemed to be moving except for an old log drifting toward me.

I blinked and looked again. That log suddenly looked a lot like the top half of a horse's head, if a horse could swim like an alligator. And then I saw the dead white eyes, the thin shiny teeth, and panic rose up in me like a black tide.

"Naruto!" I screamed, scrabbling at the bank. Mud tore loose in clumps; I'd find a handhold only to slip back again. I could feel the thing draw closer. "Naruto, help me!"

I looked over my shoulder. The horse thing was only a few feet away, raising its neck out of the water to expose a mouthful of needlelike teeth. Oh, God, I'm going to die! That thing is going to eat me!

Somebody, help! I clawed frantically at the bank—and felt a solid branch under my fingers. Grasping it, I yanked with all my strength, and felt the branch lift me out of the water, just as the horse monster lunged with a roar. It's wet, rubbery nose hit the bottom of my foot, jaws snapping with an evilsnick. Then the branch flung me, gasping and crying, to the bank, and the horse thing sank below the surface once more.

Naruto found me minutes later, curled into a ball several yards from the bank, wet to the skin and shaking like a leaf. His eyes were a mix of sympathy and exasperation as he pulled me upright.

"Are you all right?" He ran his hands up my arms, making sure I was still in one piece. "Still in there, princess? Talk to me."

I nodded, shivering. "I saw…Yuro," I stammered, trying to make sense of it all. "I followed him, but he turned into a light and flew away, and then this horse thing tried to eat me…." I trailed off. "That wasn't Yuro, was it? That was just another faery, playing with my emotions. And I fell for it."

Naruto sighed and led me back down the trail. "Yeah," he muttered, glancing back at me. "Wisps are like that, making you see what you want to see, before leading you off the path. Though, that one seemed particularly spiteful, leading you right to a kelpie's pond. I suppose I could tell you never to go off alone, but I think it'd be a waste of breath. Oh, what the hell." He stopped and whirled around, stopping me in my tracks. "Don't go off alone, princess. Under any circumstances, understand? In this world, you're viewed as either a plaything or a light snack. Don't forget that."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Yeah, I get that now."

We continued down the trail. The door in the knobby tree was gone, but my sneakers and backpack lay outside, a clear sign our welcome was over. Shivering, I slipped the shoes over my bloody feet, hating this world and everything in it, wanting only to go home.

"Well," Naruto said too cheerfully, "if you're done playing with will-o'-the-wisps and kelpies, I think we should continue. Oh, but do tell me the next time you want to have tea with an ogre. I'll be sure to bring my club."

I shot him a poisonous glare. He only grinned. Above us, the sky was lightening into that eerie gray twilight, silent and still as death, as we ventured deeper into the Nevernever.

* * *

We hadn't gone far when we came upon the patch of death in the middle of the forest.

"What is that?"

"A hunt," Naruto replied, looking off into the distance. He grimaced. "You know, I was just thinking we needed to be run down like rabbits and torn apart. My day just isn't complete without something trying to kill me."

I grew cold. "Something's after us?"

"You've never seen a wild hunt, have you." He groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "Damn. Well, this will complicate things. I was hoping to give you the grand tour of the Nevernever, princess, but I guess I'll have to put it on hold."

The baying grew closer, deep, throaty howls. Whatever was coming at us, it was big. "Shouldn't we run?" I whispered.

"You'll never be able to outrun them," He said, backing away. "They've got our scent now, and no mortal has ever escaped a wild hunt." He sighed and dramatically flung his arm over his eyes. "I guess the sacrifice of my dignity is the only thing that will save us now. The things I endure for love. The Fates laugh at my torment."

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto smiled his eerie little grin and began to change.

His face stretched out, becoming longer and narrower, as his neck began to grow. His arms spasmed, fingers turning black and fusing into hooves. He arched his back, spine expanding, as his legs became hindquarters bunched with muscle. Fur covered his skin as he dropped to all fours, no longer a boy but a sleek gray horse with a shaggy mane and tail. The transformation had taken less than ten seconds.

I backed up, remembering my encounter with the thing in the water, but the dappled horse stamped its foreleg and swished its tail impatiently. I saw its eyes, shining like emeralds through the dangling forelocks, and my fear abated somewhat.

The howling was very close now, growing more and more frenzied. I ran to horse-Naruto and threw myself on his back, grabbing his mane to heave myself up. Despite living on a farm, I'd only been on horseback once or twice, and it took me a couple of tries to get up. Naruto snorted and tossed his head, annoyed with my lack of equestrian skills.

Struggling upright, I grasped the mane and saw Naruto's eyes roll back at me. Then, with a half rear, we plunged into the bushes and were off.

Riding bareback is not fun, especially when you have no control over your mount or where it's going. I can honestly say this was the most terrifying ride of my life. The trees flashed by in a blur, branches slapped at me, and my legs burned from gripping the horse's sides with my knees. My fingers were locked around his mane in a death grip, but that didn't keep me from sliding halfway off whenever he changed direction. The wind shrieked in my ears, but I could still hear the terrifying bays of our pursuers, seemingly right on our heels. I didn't dare look back.

I lost track of time. Naruto never slowed or grew winded, but sweat darkened his body and made my seating slick and even more terrifying. My legs grew numb, and my hands seemed to belong to somebody else.

And then a huge black creature burst from the ferns to our right and lunged at the horse, snapping its jaws. It was a hound, bigger than any I'd seen, with eyes of blue fire. Naruto leaped aside to avoid it and reared, nearly spilling me to the forest floor. As I screamed, one foreleg slashed out, striking the hound in the chest midleap, and the dog yelped as it was hurled away.

The bushes exploded, and five more monstrous dogs spilled into the road. Surrounding us, they snarled and howled, snapping at the horse's legs and leaping back as he kicked at them. I was frozen, clinging to Naruto's back, watching as those massive jaws clicked shut inches from my dangling feet.

Then, through the trees, I saw him, a lean figure on a huge black horse. The boy from my dream, the one I saw from the bus that day. His cruel, angelic face wore a smile as he drew back a large bow, an arrow.

The leaves above the hunter rustled, and then a large branch swept down, striking the boy in the arm just as he released the string. I felt the hum as the arrow zipped past my head and lodged into a pine tree. A spiderweb of frost spread out from where the arrow hit, and Naruto's equine head whipped toward the source. The hunter fit another arrow to the string, and with a shrill whinny, Naruto reared and leaped over the dogs, somehow avoiding their snapping teeth. When his hooves struck dirt again, he fled, the hounds barking and snapping at his heels.

An arrow whistled past, and I looked back to see the other horse pursuing us through the trees, its rider reaching back for another shot. Naruto snorted and switched directions, nearly unseating me, plunging into a deeper part of the forest. glistening at the tip.

"Naruto!" I screeched, knowing it was already too late. "Look out!"

The trees here were monsters, and grew so close together that Naruto had to swerve and weave around them. The hounds fell back, but I still heard their bays and occasionally caught a glimpse of their lean black bodies, hurtling through the undergrowth. The rider had disappeared, but I knew he still followed, his deadly arrows ready to pierce our hearts.

As we passed under the boughs of an enormous oak, Naruto skidded to a halt, then bucked so violently that I flew off his back, my hands torn from his mane. I soared over his head, my stomach in my throat, and landed with a jarring impact in a crossbeam of connecting branches. My breath exploded from my lungs, and a stab of pain shot through my ribs, bringing tears to my eyes. With a snort, Naruto galloped on, the dogs following him into the shadows.

Moments later, the black horse and rider passed under the tree.

He slowed for a chilling heartbeat, and I held my breath, sure he would look up and see me. Then the excited howl of one of the dogs rang through the air, and he spurred his horse onward, following the hunt into the trees. In a moment, the sounds had faded. Silence fell through the branches, and I was alone.

"Well," someone said, very close by. "That was interesting."

* * *

**DUN DUN i wonder who that is -evil laugh- i guess you better review to find out -wink-**

**Also Glamour is like chakra in a way just so i dont confuse anyone(:**

**Ciao!**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	4. The cat sidhe

**The NeverNever**

**A/n- So i have to admit that my story is finally done and all written up to the end. Now that it's done il just update whenever i feel needed to. The main reason im updating (again) this week is to my loyal readers/reviewers and the people that added this story to their alert list and favs that i appriciate ohhhh sooo muchhh! LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**This story is dedicated to aquacherries for being my first reviewer! Also i don't know if you looked but i sent you a message on her explaining things!(:**

**Disclaimer****- i DON'T OWN NARUTO OR FEY! STOP REMINDING ME!):**

_** The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die**_

**_-Cheshire Cat_**

* * *

"Well," someone said, very close by. "That was interesting."

I didn't scream this time, but came very close. As it was, I nearly fell out of the tree. Hugging a branch, I looked around wildly, trying to determine the owner of the voice, but I glimpsed nothing but leaves and sickly gray light shining through the branches.

"Where are you?" I gasped. "Show yourself."

"I am not hiding, little girl." The voice sounded amused. "Perhaps…if you open your eyes a bit wider. Like this."

Directly in front of me, not five feet away, a pair of saucerlike eyes opened up out of nowhere, and I stared into the face of an enormous gray cat.

"There," it purred, regarding me with a lazy yellow gaze. Its fur was long and wispy, blending perfectly into the tree and the entire landscape. "See me now?"

"You're a cat," I blurted stupidly, and I swore it arched a brow at me.

"In the crudest sense of the word, I suppose you could call me that." The feline rose, arching its back, before sitting and curling its plumed tail around its legs. Now that my shock was fading, I realized the cat was a he, not an it. "Others have called me Cait Sith, Grimalkin, and Devil's Cat, but since they all mean the same, I suppose you would be correct but I prefer Kakashi."

I gaped at him, but the sharp throb of my ribs returned my mind to other things. Namely, that Naruto had left me alone in this world that viewed me as a snack, and I had no idea how to survive. Shock and anger came first—Naruto had really left me, to save his own skin—and after that came a fear so real and terrifying it was all I could do not to hug the branch and sob. How could he do this to me?

I'd never make it out on my own. I'd end up as dessert for a carnivorous horse monster, torn apart by a pack of wolves, or hopelessly lost for decades, because I was sure time had ceased to exist and I'd be stuck here forever.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to be calm. No, Naruto wouldn't do that to me. I'm sure of it. Perhaps he ditched me to lead the hunt away, to make sure the hunt followed him and left me alone.

Maybe he thought he was saving my life. Maybe he had saved my life. If that was the case, I hoped he came back soon; I didn't think I would get out of the Nevernever without him.

Kakashi, or whatever his name was, continued to observe me as if I was a particularly interesting insect. I eyed him with new feelings of suspicion. Sure, he looked like an enormous, slightly plump house cat, but horses weren't generally meat-eaters and normal trees did not have little men living inside. This feline could be sizing me up for its next meal. I gulped and met his eerie, intelligent gaze head-on. I noticed that now he turned into a man with wild gray hair the some how defied gravity. His eyes, or should I say eye since one was covered with a mask, as was his lower face. He wore dark blue pants and a blue long sleeve shirt with a green vest over it.

"W-what do you want?" I asked, thankful that my voice only trembled a little bit.

The man didn't blink. "Human," he said, and if a cat could sound patronizing, this one nailed it, "think about the absurdity of that question. I am resting in my tree, minding my own business while reading my book , when you come flying in like a bean sidhe and scare off every bird for miles around. Then, you have the audacity to ask what I want." He sniffed and gave me a very catlike stare of disdain. "I am aware that mortals are rude and barbaric, but still."

"I'm sorry," I muttered automatically. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Kakashi reached behind him and pulled out a orange book and started to read.

"Um," I continued after a moment of silence, "I was wondering if, maybe…you could help me."

Kakashi paused midpage, then continued without looking up. "And why would I want to do that?" he asked, weaving words and reading without missing a beat. He still didn't look at me.

"I'm trying to find my brother," I replied, stung by Kakashi's casual refusal. "He's been stolen by the Unseelie Court."

"Mmm. How terribly uninteresting."

"Please," I begged. "Help me. Give me a hint, or just point me in the right direction. Anything. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

Kakashi yawned, but you could barely tell because of his mask, and finally looked at me.

"Are you suggesting I do you a favor?"

"Yes. Look, I'll pay you back somehow, I promise."

His mouth twitched, his eyes looking amused. "Be careful throwing those words around so casually," he warned.

"Doing this will put you in my debt. Are you sure you wish to continue?"

I didn't think about it. I was so desperate for help, I'd agree to anything. "Yes! Please, I need to find Naruto. The horse I was riding when he bucked me off. He's not really a horse, you know. He's a—"

"I know what he is," Kakashi said quietly.

"Really? Oh, that's great. Do you know where he could've gone?"

He fixed me with an unblinking stare, and without a word, he rose, leaped gracefully onto a lower limb, and dropped to the ground. He stretched, arching his arms over his spine, and vanished into the bushes without looking back.

I yelped, scrambling to untangle myself from the branches, wincing at the shard of pain between my ribs.

I more or less fell out of the tree, landing with a thump on my backside that sparked a word Mom would ground me for. Dusting off my rear, I looked around for Kakashi.

"Human." He appeared like a gray ghost sliding out of the bushes, his eye the only evidence he was there. "This is our agreement. I will lead you to your Naruto, and you will owe me a small favor in return, yes?"

Something about the way he said the agreement caused my skin to prickle, but I nodded.

"Very well, then. Follow me. And do try to keep up."

* * *

EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

If you've ever tried following a cat/man through a dense forest filled with briars, bushes, and tangled undergrowth, you'll know how impossible it is. I lost track of the times Kakashi vanished from sight, and I'd spend a few heart-pounding minutes searching for him, hoping I was going the right way. I always felt a desperate relief when I'd finally catch a glimpse of him slinking through the trees ahead, only to go through the same thing minutes later.

It didn't help that my mind was occupied with what could've happened to Naruto. Was he dead, shot down by the dark fey boy and ripped apart by the hounds? Or had he really fled, already resolved that he wasn't coming back for me, and I could take my chances on my own?

Fear and anger welled, and my sullen thoughts shifted to my present guide. Kakashi seemed to know the path we should take, but how did he know where Naruto would be? Why should I trust him? What if the devious feline was leading me into some sort of trap?

As I was entertaining these bleak thoughts, Kakashi disappeared again.

Dammit, I'm going to tie a bell on his pants if doesn't stop that. The light was fading, and the forest was even more gray. I stopped and squinted at the bushes, searching for the elusive manline (man and feline hehe).

Up ahead, the bushes rustled, which surprised me. Kakashi had been completely silent up until now.

"Human!" whispered a familiar voice, somewhere above me. "Hide!"

"What?" I said, but it was too late. Twigs snapped, bushes parted, and a slew of creatures spilled into view.

They were short, ugly things, standing two to three feet high, with knobby yellow-green skin and bulbous noses. Their ears were large and pointed. They wore tattered clothing and carried bone-tipped spears in yellow claws. Their faces were mean and cruel, with beady eyes and mouths full of broken, jagged teeth.

For a moment, they stopped, blinking in surprise. Then the whole pack of them screeched and swarmed forward, jabbing at me with their spears.

"What is it? What is it?" snarled one, as I cringed away from the stabbing points. Laughter and jeers filled the air as they surrounded me.

"It's an elf," hissed another, giving me a toothy leer. "An elf what lost its ears, maybe."

"No, a goat-girl," cried yet a third. "Good eatin', them."

"She ain't no goat, cretin! Look it, she ain't got no 'ooves!"

I trembled and looked around for an escape route, but wherever I turned, those sharp bony points were thrust at me.

"Take 'er to the chief," someone suggested at last. "The chief'll know what she is, and if she's safe to eat."

"Right! The chief'll know!"

A couple of them rushed me from behind, and I felt a blow to the backs of my knees. With a shriek, I collapsed, and the whole pack of them swarmed me, hooting and hollering. I screamed and kicked, flailing my arms, thrashing under the weight of the creatures. A few went flying into the bushes, but they bounced up with shrill cries and pounced on me again. Blows rained down on me.

Then something struck me behind the head, making lights explode behind my eyes, and I knew nothing for a time.

* * *

I WOKE WITH THE MOTHER OF ALL

headaches doing a jig inside my skull. I was in a sitting position, and something that felt like broom handles pressed uncomfortably into my back. Groaning, I probed around my skull, searching for anything cracked or broken. Except for a massive lump just above my hairline, everything seemed to be intact.

When I was sure I was still in one piece, I opened my eyes. And regretted it immediately. I was in a cage. A very small cage, made of branches lashed together with leather bindings. There was barely enough room for me to raise my head, and when I moved, something sharp poked me in the arm, drawing blood. I looked closer and saw that many of the branches were covered in thorns about an inch long.

Beyond the bars, several mud huts sat in no particular arrangement around a large fire pit. The squat, ugly little creatures scampered to and fro around the camp, fighting, arguing, or gnawing on bones. A group of them sat around my backpack, pulling things out one by one. My extra clothes they just tossed in the dirt, but the chips and bottle of aspirin they immediately ripped open, tasted, and squabbled over.

One managed to open the soda can and spray fizzy liquid everywhere, to the angry shrieks of his companions.

One of them, shorter than its fellows and wearing a muddy red vest, saw that I was awake. With a hiss, it scuttled up to the cage and thrust its spear through the bars. I cringed back, but there was nowhere to go; the thorns stung my flesh as the spear jabbed me in the thigh.

"Ouch, stop it!" I cried, which only encouraged it further. Cackling, it poked and prodded me, until I reached down and grabbed the head of the spear. Snarling and cursing, the creature tried yanking it back, and we held a ridiculous tug-of-war until another goblin saw what we were doing. It rushed up and stabbed me through the bars on the opposite side, and I released the spear with a yelp.

"Hidan, stop pokin' the meat," snapped the second, taller creature. "Ain't no good if all the blood runs out."

"Kisame, I was just makin' sure it was tender, is all." The other snorted and spit on the ground, then glared at me with greedy bead eyes. "Why we waitin' about? Let's just eat it already."

"The chief ain't back yet." The taller creature looked at me, and to my horror, a long string of drool dripped down its chin. "He 'as to make sure this thing is safe to eat."

They gave me a last longing glare, then stomped back to the fire pit, arguing and spitting at each other. I drew my knees to my chest and tried to control my shaking.

"If you are going to cry, please do it quietly," murmured a familiar voice at my back. "Goblins can smell fear. They will only torment you more if you give them a reason."

"Kakashi?" Squirming in my cage, I glanced around to see that he changed back into the nearly invisible gray cat crouched by one corner. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and his strong, sharp teeth were chewing at one of the leather bindings.

"Idiot, do not look at me!" he spat, and I quickly glanced away. The cat growled, tugging on one of the bars. "Goblins are not very smart, but even they will notice if you start talking to nobody. Just sit tight and I will have you out of here in a minute."

"Thank you for coming back," I whispered, watching two goblins fight over some unfortunate beast's rib cage. The quarrel ended when one goblin bashed the other over the head with a club and scampered off with its trophy. The other goblin lay stunned for a moment, then leaped to its feet in pursuit.

Kakashi sniffed and began chewing the bindings again. "Do not put yourself even more in debt," he said around a mouthful of leather. "We have already made a contract. I agreed to take you to Naruto, and I always keep my end of the bargain. Now, shut up so I can work."

I nodded and fell silent, but suddenly there was a great cry in the goblin camp. Goblins leaped to their feet, hissing and scuttling about, as a large creature sauntered out of the forest into the middle of the encampment.

It was another goblin, only bigger, broader, and meaner-looking than its fellows. It wore a crimson uniform with brass buttons, the sleeves rolled up. It also carried a curved blade, rusty bronze and jagged along the edge. It snarled and swaggered into the camp, the other goblins cringing away from it, and I knew this must be the chief.

"Shut up, ya pack of jabberin' dogs," the chief roared, aiming a blow at a couple of goblins who didn't get out of his way quick enough. "Worthless, the lot of ya! I been hard at work, raidin' the borderlands, an' what have you lot got to show me, eh? Nothin'! Not even a rabbit fer the stewpot. Ya make me sick."

"Chief, chief!" cried several goblins at once, dancing around and pointing. "Lookit, look it! We caught something! We brought it back for you!"

"Eh?" The chief's gaze flashed across the camp, his evil eyes fastening on me. "What's this? Did you miserable louts actually manage to catch a high an' mighty elf?"

He sauntered toward the cage. I couldn't help myself and snuck a quick glance at Kakashi, hoping the cat would flee. But Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

Swallowing hard, I looked up and met the chief's beady red eyes.

"What in Pan's privates is this?" the goblin chief snorted. "This ain't no elf, you cretins. Not unless she bartered away her ears! Besides—" he sniffed the air, wrinkling his snotty nose "—it smells different. Ey, funny elf-thing." He smacked the cage with the flat of his sword, making me jump. "What are ya?"

I took a deep breath as the rest of the goblin tribe crowded around the cage, watching me, some curious, most hungry-looking. "I'm a…an otaku faery," I said, drawing a confused scowl from the chief

and bewildered looks from the rest of the camp. Whispers began to erupt from the crowd, gaining strength like wildfire.

"A what?"

"Ain't never 'erd of that before."

"Is it tasty?"

"Can we eat it?"

The chief frowned. "I admit, I ain't never come across no otaku faery before," he growled, scratching his head. "Ah, but that ain't important. Ya look young an' juicy enough, I figure you'll feed me crew fer several nights. So, what's yer preference, otaku?" He grinned and raised his sword. "Boiled alive, or skewered over the fire?"

I clenched my hands to stop them from shaking. "Either way is fine with me," I said, trying to sound casual. "Tomorrow it won't matter at all. There's a deadly poison running through my veins. If you swallow one bite of me, your blood will boil, your insides will melt, and you'll dissolve into a steaming pile of muck." Hisses went around the tribe; several goblins bared their teeth at me and snarled. I crossed my arms and raised my chin, staring down the goblin chief. "So, go ahead and eat me. Tomorrow you'll be a big puddle of goo, sinking into the ground."

Many of the goblins were backing away now, but the chief stood firm. "Shut up, you sniveling lot!" he snarled at the nervous goblins. Giving me a sour look, he spat on the ground. "So, we can't eat ya." He sounded unimpressed. "Pity, that is. But don't think that'll save ya, girl. If yer so deadly, I'll just kill ya now, except I'll bleed ya slow, so yer poison blood won't hurt me. Then I'll skin ya and hang yer hide on me door, and use yer bones fer arrowheads. As me grandmother always said, waste not."

"Wait!" I cried as he stepped forward, raising his sword. "It—it would be a shame for me to go to waste like that," I stammered as he glared at me with suspicious eyes. "There is a way to purify the poison from my blood so that I'm safe to eat. If I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather be eaten than tortured."

The goblin chief smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way," he gloated. Turning to his minions, he puffed out his chest. "See there, dogs? Yer chief is still lookin' out fer ya! We feast tonight!"

A raucous cheer went up, and the chief turned to me again, leveling his sword at my face. "So then, otaku girl. What's yer secret?"

I thought quickly. "To cleanse the poison from my blood, you have to boil me in a big pot with several purifying ingredients. Spring water from a waterfall, an acorn from the tallest oak tree, blue mushrooms, and…um…"

"Don't tell me ya forgot," the chief said in a menacing tone, and poked the sword tip through the bars of the cage. "Maybe I can help ya remember."

"Pixie dust!" I blurted desperately, making him blink. "From a live pixie," I added. "Not dead. If it dies, the recipe won't work." I prayed that there were pixies in this world. If not, I was as good as dead.

"Huh," the chief grunted, and turned to the waiting tribe. "All right, louts, you heard it! I want those ingredients back here before dawn! Anyone who don't work, don't eat! Now, get movin'."

The tribe scattered. Hissing, jabbering, and cursing at one another, they vanished into the forest until only one guard remained, leaning on a crooked spear.

The chief eyed me warily and pointed his sword through the bars.

"Don't think ya can trick me by givin' false ingredients," he threatened. "I plan to cut off yer finger, toss it in the stew, an' have one of me mates taste it. If he dies, or melts into a puddle, it be a long, slow death fer you. Understand?"

Chilled, I nodded. I knew none of the goblins would die, because my claim of poison and the recipe for the stew was, of course, completely bogus. Still, I wasn't thrilled about losing one of my would be a better word.

The chief spat and looked around the near-deserted campsite. "Bah, none of them dogs will know how to catch a piskie," he muttered, scratching his ear. "They'd probably eat the damn thing if they caught it. Arg, I'd better find one myself. Bugrat!"

A few yards away, the lone guard snapped to attention. "Chief?"

"Keep an eye on our dinner," the chief ordered, sheathing his sword. "If it tries to escape, cut off its feet."

"You got it, chief."

"I'm goin' huntin'." The chief shot me one last warning glare, then bounded off into the undergrowth.

"That was clever," Kakashi murmured, sounding reluctantly impressed.

I nodded, too breathless to answer. After a moment, the sound of chewing recommenced. It took a while, during which time I chewed my lip, wrung my hands, and tried not to ask how Kakashi was doing every twenty seconds. As the minutes stretched, I cast anxious glances at the trees and the forest, expecting the chief or the goblin horde to come bursting through. The lone guard stalked the perimeter of the camp, shooting me an evil look as it walked by and triggering Kakashi's vanishing act.

Finally, on the eighth or ninth circle, Kakashi's voice floated up after the guard had passed.

"There. I think you can get through now."

I wiggled around as best I could. Peering at the bars, I saw that several of the bindings were chewed in half, testament to Kakashi's strong jaws and sharp teeth.

"Come on, come on, let us go," He hissed, lashing its tail. "You can gawk later—they are coming back."

Bushes rustled around me, and harsh laughter filled the air, getting closer. Heart pounding, I grasped the bars, being careful to avoid the thorns, and pushed. They resisted me, held in place by interlocking branches, and I shoved harder. It was like trying to push through a heavy briar patch; the bars shifted a bit, teasing me with freedom, but stubbornly gave little ground.

The goblin chief stepped out of the trees, followed by three more goblins. He clutched something small and wriggling in one fist, and his followers' arms were filled with pale blue toadstools.

"Mushrooms were the easy part," the chief snorted, casting a derisive glance back at the others. "Any idiot can collect plants. If I'd left these dogs ta catch a piskie, we'd be nothin' but bones before—" He stopped, and his gaze snapped to me. For a moment, he stood there, blinking, then his eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists. The creature in his grasp gave a high-pitched squeal as the goblin crushed the life from it and flung it to the ground. With a roar of outrage, the chief drew his sword. I screamed and shoved on the cage as hard as I could.

With a great snapping of twigs and thorns, the back of the cage came loose, and I was free.

"Run!" Kakashi yelled, and I didn't need encouragement. We bolted into the forest, the enraged cries of the goblins on our heels.

I tore through the forest, branches and leaves slapping at my face, following Kakashi's shadowy form as best I could. Behind me, twigs snapped, snarls echoed, and the angry cursing of the goblin chief grew louder in my ears. My breath rasped in my chest, my lungs burned, but I forced my legs to keep moving, knowing that if I stumbled or fell, I would die.

"This way!" I heard Kakashi shout, darting into a patch of bramble. "If we can get to the river, we will be safe! Goblins cannot swim!"

I followed him into the briars, bracing myself for thorns tearing at my flesh and ripping at my clothes. But the branches parted easily for me, as they had when I was with Puck, and I slipped through with minimal scrapes. As I exited the bramble patch, a great crashing noise echoed behind me, followed by loud yelps and swearing. It seemed the goblins weren't finding the path as easy to navigate, and I thanked whatever forces were at work as I continued on.

Over the roaring in my ears and my own ragged breaths, I heard the sound of rushing water. When I staggered out of the trees, the ground abruptly dropped away into a rocky embankment. A great river loomed before me, nearly a hundred yards across, with no bridges or rafts in sight. I couldn't see the other side because a coiling wall of mist hovered over the water, stretching as far as I could see.

Kakashi stood at the edge, almost invisible in the fog.

"Hurry!" he ordered as I stumbled down the bank, exhaustion burning my legs. "The Erlking's territory is on the other side. You must swim, quickly!"

I hesitated. If monster horses lurked in quiet ponds, what would great black rivers hold? Images of giant fish and sea monsters flashed across my mind.

Something flew past my arm, startling me, bouncing off the rocks with a clatter. It was a goblin spear, the bone-white tip gleaming against the stones. The blood drained from my face. I could either stay put and be skewered, or take my chances with the river.

Scrambling down the bank, I flung myself into the water.

The cold shocked me, and I gasped, struggling against the current as it pulled me downstream. I'm a fairly strong swimmer, but my limbs felt like jelly, and my lungs were gasping to suck in enough oxygen. I floundered and went under, snorting water up my nose and making my lungs scream. The current pulled me farther away, and I fought down panic.

Another lance zipped over my head. I looked back and saw the goblins following me along the bank, scrambling over the rocks and hurling spears. Terror shot through me, giving me new strength. I struck out for the opposite shore, arms and legs churning madly, fighting the current for all I was worth. More spears splashed around me, but thankfully, the goblins' aim seemed to match their intelligence.

As I drew close to the wall of mist, something struck my shoulder with jarring force, sending a flare of agony across my back. I gasped and went under. Pain paralyzed my arm, and as the undertow dragged me down, I was sure I was going to die.

Something grabbed my waist, and I felt myself pulled upward. My head broke water and I gasped air into my starving lungs, fighting the blackness on the edge of my vision. As my senses returned, I realized someone was pulling me through the water, but I could see nothing around me because of the mist. Then my feet touched solid ground, and the next thing I knew, I was lying in the grass, the sun shining warmly on my face. My eyes were closed, and I cracked them open cautiously.

A girl's face hovered over mine, blond hair brushing my cheeks, wide green eyes both anxious and curious. Her skin was the color of summer grass, and tiny scales gleamed silver around her neck. She grinned, and her teeth flashed as sharp and pointed as an eel's.

A scream welled in my throat, but I swallowed it down. This…girl?…had just saved my life, even if it meant she wanted to eat me herself. It would be rude if I just shrieked in her face, plus any sudden moves might spark an aggressive feeding frenzy. I couldn't show any fear. With a deep breath, I sat up, wincing as a bolt of pain lanced through my shoulder.

"Um…hello," I stammered, watching her sit back and blink. I was surprised that she had legs instead of a fishtail, though webbing spanned her fingers and toes, and her claws were very, very sharp. A small white dress clung to her body, the hem of it dripping wet. "I'm Sakura. What's your name?"

She cocked her head, reminding me of a cat that couldn't decide whether to eat the mouse or play with it. "You're funny-looking," she stated, her voice rippling like water over rocks. "What are you?"

"Me? I'm human." The moment I said it, I wished I hadn't. In the old fairy tales, which I was remembering more and more of, humans were always food, playthings, or the tragic love interest. And as I was quickly discovering, the inhabitants here had no qualms about eating a speaking, sentient creature. I held the same rung on the food chain as a rabbit or squirrel. It was a scary, rather humbling thought.

"Human?" The girl cocked her head the other way. I caught a glimpse of pink gills under her chin. "My sisters told me stories of humans. They said they sometimes sing to them to lure them underwater." She grinned, showing off her sharp needle-teeth. "I've been practicing. Want to hear?"

"No, she certainly does not." Kakashi came stalking through the grass, orange book held high in the air. He was back to his human form soaked and he did not look pleased.

"Shoo," he growled at the girl, and she drew back, hissing and baring her teeth. Kakashi seemed unimpressed. "Go away. I am in no mood to play games with nixies. Now, get!"

The girl hissed once more and fled, sliding into the water like a seal. She glared at us from the middle of the river, then vanished in a spray of mist.

"Irritating sirens," Kakashi fumed, turning to glare at me, eyes narrowed. "You did not promise her

anything, did you?"

"No." I bristled. I was happy to see the man, of course, but didn't appreciate the attitude. It wasn't my fault the goblins were chasing us. "You didn't have to scare her off, Kakashi. She did save my life."

The man flicked his hair, spraying me with drops. "The only reason she pulled you out of the river was curiosity. If I had not come along, she would have either sung you underwater to drown, or she would have eaten you. Fortunately, nixies are not very brave. They would much prefer a fight beneath the water where they have all the advantages. Now, I suggest we find somewhere to rest. You are wounded, and the swim took a lot out of me. If you can walk, I encourage you to do so."

Grimacing, I pulled myself to my feet. My shoulder felt like it was on fire, but if I held my arm close to my chest, the pain receded to a dull throb. Biting my lip, I followed Kakashi, away from the river and into the lands of the Erlking.

* * *

EVEN WET, TIRED, AND IN PAIN,

I still had the energy to gawk. Pretty soon, my eyes felt huge and swollen from staring so long without blinking. The land on this side of the river was a far cry from the eerie gray forest of the wild fey. Rather than colors being faded and washed out, everything was overly vibrant and vivid. The trees were too green, the flowers screamingly colorful. Leaves glittered, razor sharp in the light, and petals flashed like jewels as they caught the sun. It was all very beautiful, but I couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension as I took it in. Everything seemed…fake somehow, as if this was a fancy coating over reality, as if I wasn't looking at the real world at all.

My shoulder burned, and the skin around it felt puffy and hot. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the throbbing heat leeched down my arm and spread through my back. Sweat ran down my face, making my eyes sting, and my legs trembled.

I finally collapsed under a pine tree, gasping, my body hot and cold at the same time. Kakashi jumped up into a branch and kept reading his book. . For a moment, there were two Kakashi's, but then I blinked sweat out of my eyes and there was only one.

"There's something wrong with me," I panted as the man regarded me coolly. His eye abruptly floated off his face and hovered in the air between us. I blinked, hard, and they were normal again.

Kakashi nodded. "Dreamlace venom," he said, to my confusion. "Goblins poison their spears and arrows. When the hallucinations start coming, you do not have long."

I took a ragged breath. "Isn't there a cure?" I whispered, ignoring the fern that started crawling toward me like a leafy spider. "Someone who can help?"

"That is where we are going." Kakashi stood, looking back at me. "Not far now, human. Keep your before. Now, the only question remaining is, what path will you take, and how will you choose to rule?"

"I don't understand."

"You aren't supposed to." The moonlight creature stepped forward and breathed. Silver air washed over me, and my eyelids fluttered shut. "Now, sleep, my princess. Your father awaits you. And tell Kakashi that I choose to help, not as a favor, but for reasons of my own. The next time he calls on me will be the last."

I didn't want to sleep. Questions swirled to mind, buzzing and insistent. I opened my mouth to ask about my father, but the creature's horn touched my chest, sending a rush of heat through my body. I gaspedand opened my eyes.

The moonlit grove had disappeared. A meadow surrounded me, tall grasses waving in the wind, a faint pink glow lighting the horizon. The last traces of a weird dream fluttered across my mind: moving trees, talking deer, a creature made of frost and moonlight. I wondered what was real, and what had just been the effects of the delirium. I felt fine now—better than fine. Some of it must have been real.

Then the grass rustled, as if something crept up behind me.

I whipped around and saw my backpack sitting a few feet away, bright orange against the green. Snatching it up, I pulled it open. The food was gone, of course, as were the flashlight and the aspirin, but my extra clothes were there, crumpled into a ball and sopping wet.

Confused, I stared at the pack. What could have brought it here all the way from the goblins' camp? I didn't think Kakashiwould have gone back for it, especially since that would have meant crossing the river again. But, here was my pack—moldy and wet, but still here. At least the clothes would dry. And then I remembered something else. Something that made me wince.

Unzipping the side pouch, I pulled out my dripping, water-logged iPod.

"Dammit." I sighed, looking it over. The screen was blurry and warped, totally ruined, a year's savings down the drain. I shook it and heard water sloshing inside. Not good. Just to be sure, I plugged in the headphones and turned it on. Nothing. Not even a buzz. It was well and truly dead.

Sadly, I replaced it in the pocket and zipped it back up. So much for listening to Aerosmith in Faeryland.

I was about to go looking for Kakashi when a giggle overhead made me glance up. Something crouched in the branches. Something small and misshapen, watching me with glowing green eyes. I saw the outline of a sinewy body, long thin arms, and goblinlike ears. Only it wasn't a goblin. It was too small for that, and more disturbing, it seemed intelligent.

The monster saw me watching it and offered a slow smile. Its teeth, pointed and razor sharp, glimmered with neon-blue fire, just before it vanished. And I don't mean it scuttled off or faded away like a ghost. It blipped out of sight, like the image on a computer screen.

Like that thing I saw in the computer lab.

Definitely time to go.

I found Kakashi on a rock, again reading his orange book. He looked up with lazy eye as I came rushing up.

"We're leaving," I told him, shrugging into my backpack. "You're going to take me to Naruto, I'm going to rescue Yuro, and we're going home. And if I never see another goblin, nixie, cait sith or whatever, it'll be too soon."

Kakashi yawned. Infuriatingly, he took his sweet time getting up, stretching, yawning, scratching his ears, making sure every hair was in place. I stood, nearly dancing with impatience.

"Arcadia, the Summer Court, is close," Kakashi said as he finally deemed himself ready to start.

"Remember, you owe me a small debt when we find your Naruto." He leaped from the rock to the ground, looking back at me solemnly. "I will claim my price as soon as we find him. Don't forget."

We walked for hours, through a forest that seemed to be constantly closing in on us. In the corners of my eyes, branches, leaves, even tree trunks moved and shifted, reaching out for me. Sometimes I'd pass a tree or bush, only to see the same one farther down the path. Laughter echoed from the canopy overhead, and strange lights winked and bobbed in the distance. Once, a fox peeked at us from beneath

a fallen log, a human skull perched on its head. None of this bothered Kakashi, who walked down the path still reading.

Night had descended, and the enormous blue moon was high overhead, when Kakashi stopped,

Narrowing his eyes. With a sound emitting from his throat, he slipped off the trail and vanished into a patch of ferns. Startled, I looked up to see a pair of riders approaching, glowing bright in the darkness. Their mounts were gray and silver, and the hooves didn't touch the ground as they broke into a canter, straight for me.

I stood my ground as they approached. There was no use trying to outrun hunters on horseback. As they got closer, I saw the riders: tall and elegant, with sharp features and coppery hair tied into a tail.

They wore silver mail that flashed in the moonlight, and carried long, thin blades at their sides. The horses surrounded me, snorting steam, their breath hanging in the air like clouds. Atop their mounts, the knights glared down with unnatural beauty, their features too fine and delicate to be real.

"Are you Sakura Haruno?" one of them asked, his voice high and clear like a flute. His eyes flashed, the color of the summer sky.

I swallowed. "Yes."

"You will come with us. His Majesty King Oberon, Lord of the Summer Court, has sent for you."

* * *

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